Winterville-WSRP

Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan

WATER SHORTAGE RESPONSE PLAN

TOWN OF WINTERVILLE

NORTH CAROLINA

Adopted as a Ordinance

July 12, 2010

NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan
Water Shortage Response Plan
Town of Winterville, North Carolina
July 12, 2010

The procedures herein are written to reduce potable water demand and supplement
existing drinking water supplies whenever existing water supply sources are inadequate
to meet current demands for potable water.

I. Authorization

The Winterville Town Manager shall enact the following water shortage response
provisions whenever the trigger conditions outlined in Section IV are met. In his
absence, the Public Works Director will assume this role.

Mr. Bill Whisnant
Winterville Town Manager
Phone: [phone] Ext. 207
E-mail:[e-mail]

Mr. John Woods
Town of Winterville Public Works
Director
Phone: [phone] Ext. 4203
E-mail: [e-mail]

II. Notification

The following notification methods will be used to inform water system employees and
customers of a water shortage declaration: employee e-mail announcements, notices at
municipal buildings, notices in water bills. Required water shortage response measures
will be communicated through PSA announcements on local radio and cable stations.
and on the town website http://www.wintervillenc.com. Declaration of emergency water
restrictions or water rationing will be communicated to all customers by telephone
through use of reverse 911.

III. Levels of Response

Five levels of water shortage response are outlined in the table below. The five levels of
water shortage response are: voluntary reductions, mandatory reductions I and II,
emergency reductions and water rationing. A detailed description of each response
level and corresponding water reduction measures follow below.

NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan
Stage Response Description
1 Voluntary
Reductions
Water users are encouraged to reduce their water use and
improve water use efficiency; however, no penalties apply for
noncompliance. Water supply conditions indicate a potential
for shortage.
2 Mandatory
Reductions I
Water users must abide required water use reduction and
efficiency measures; penalties apply for noncompliance.
Water supply conditions are significantly lower than the
seasonal norm and water shortage conditions are expected to
persist.
3 Mandatory
Reductions II
Same as in Stage 2
4 Emergency
Reductions
Water supply conditions are substantially diminished and
pose an imminent threat to human health or environmental
integrity.
5 Water
Rationing
Water supply conditions are substantially diminished and
remaining supplies must be allocated to preserve human
health and environmental integrity.

In Stage 1, Voluntary Reductions, all water users will be asked to reduce their normal
water use by 5%. Customer education and outreach programs will encourage water
conservation and efficiency measures including: irrigating landscapes a maximum of
one inch per week; preventing water waste, runoff and watering impervious surfaces;
watering plants deeply to encourage root growth; washing only full loads in clothes and
dishwashers; using spring-loaded nozzles on garden hoses; and identifying and
repairing all water leaks.

In Stage 2, Mandatory Reductions I, all customers are expected to reduce their water
use by 10% in comparison to their previous month’s water bill. In addition to continuing
to encourage all voluntary reduction actions, the following restrictions apply: irrigation is
limited to a half inch per week between 8PM and 8AM; outdoor use of drinking water for
washing impervious surfaces is prohibited; and all testing and training purposes
requiring drinking water (e.g. fire protection) will be limited.

In Stage 3, Mandatory Reductions II, customers must continue actions from all previous
stages and further reduce water use by 20% compared to their previous month’s water
bill. All non-essential uses of drinking water are banned and garden and landscape
irrigation must be reduced to the minimum amount necessary for survival. Additionally,
in Stage 3, a drought surcharge of 1.5 times the normal water rate applies.

In Stage 4, Emergency Reductions, customers must continue all actions from previous
stages and further reduce their water use by 25% compared to their previous month’s
water bill. A ban on all use of drinking water except to protect public health and safety is
implemented and drought surcharges increase to 2 times the normal water rate.

NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan
The goal of Stage 5, Water Rationing, is to provide drinking water to protect public
health (e.g. residences, residential health care facilities and correctional facilities). In
Stage 5, all customers are only permitted to use water at the minimum required for
public health protection. Firefighting is the only allowable outdoor water use and pickup
locations for distributing potable water will be announced according to Winterville’s
Emergency Response Plan. Drought surcharges increase to 5 times the normal water
rate.

IV. Triggers

Winterville is provided water by purchase from the Greenville Utilities Commission.
When Greenville Utilities Commission declares a water shortage Winterville is required
to do so as well. During this time Winterville Public Works Director will stay in close
contact with Greenville Utilities Commission and follow their triggers.

The Town of Winterville’s other water source is groundwater. The following
measurements of well pumping times and well levels in relationship to pump
intake levels trigger entry into corresponding water restriction stages.

Stage Well Operating Conditions
1 Pumping Time >10 hrs
20% reduction in seasonal normal distance from static water level and
pump intake
20% increase pumping time for same output
2 Pumping Time >12 hrs
40% reduction in distance from static water level and pump intake
40% increase pumping time for same output
3 Pumping Time >14 hrs
60% reduction in distance from static water level and pump intake
60% increase pumping time for same output
4 Pumping Time >20 hrs
80% reduction in distance from static water level and pump intake
5 Water level at pump intake elevation

Return to Normal

When water shortage conditions have abated and the situation is returning to normal,
water conservation measures employed during each phase should be decreased in
reverse order of implementation. Permanent measures directed toward long-term
NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan
monitoring and conservation should be implemented or continued so that the
community will be in a better position to prevent shortages and respond to recurring
water shortage conditions.

V. Enforcement

The provisions of the water shortage response plan will be enforced by Town of
Winterville Public Works department and police personnel. Violators may be reported to
the Town’s dedicated water conservation hotline. Citations are assessed according to
the following schedule depending on the number of prior violations and current level of
water shortage.

Water Shortage Level First Violation Second Violation Third Violation
Voluntary Reductions N/A N/A N/A
Mandatory Reductions
(Stages 2 and 3)
Warning $250 Discontinuation of
Service
Emergency Reductions $250 Discontinuation of
Service
Discontinuation of
Service
Water Rationing $500 Discontinuation of
Service
Discontinuation of
Service

Drought surcharge rates are effective in Stages 3, 4 and 5.

VI. Public Comment

Customers will have multiple opportunities to comment on the provisions of the water
shortage response plan. First, a draft plan will be will be available at Town Hall for
customers to view. A notice will be included in customer water bill notifying them of
such. Also a draft plan will be posted on the town website http://www.wintervillenc.com.
All subsequent revisions to the draft plan will be published at least 30 days prior to an
adoption vote by Winterville’s Aldermen.

VII. Variance Protocols

Applications for water use variance requests are available from the Town Public Works
Office. All applications must be submitted to the Public Works Office for review by the
Public Works Director or his designee. A decision to approve or deny individual
variance requests will be determined within two weeks of submittal after careful
consideration of the following criteria: impact on water demand, expected duration,
alternative source options, social and economic importance, purpose (i.e. necessary
use of drinking water) and the prevention of structural damage.
NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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Winterville Water Shortage Response Plan

VIII. Effectiveness

The effectiveness of the Winterville water shortage response plan will be determined by
comparing the stated water conservation goals with observed water use reduction data.
Other factors to be considered include frequency of plan activation, any problem periods
without activation, total number of violation citations, desired reductions attained and
evaluation of demand reductions compared to the previous year’s seasonal data.

IX. Revision

The water shortage response plan will be reviewed and revised as needed to adapt to
new circumstances affecting water supply and demand, following implementation of
emergency restrictions, and at a minimum of every five years in conjunction with the
updating of our Local Water Supply Plan. Further, a water shortage response planning
work group will review procedures following each emergency or rationing stage to
recommend any necessary improvements to the plan to Winterville’s Town Aldermen.
The Town of Winterville Public Works Director is responsible for initiating all subsequent
revisions.
NC Division of Water Resources
http://www.ncwater.org
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