Upon the declaration of a water emergency, the County Administrator
or his/her designee shall immediately post a written notice of the
emergency at the front door of the Court House and shall place a notice
in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which such emergency
has been declared.
Upon the declaration of a water shortage or emergency, the County
Administrator or his/her designee is authorized and directed to implement
conservation measures by ordering the restricted use or absolute curtailment
of the use of water for certain nonessential purposes for the duration
of the water shortage or emergency in the manner hereinafter set out.
In exercising this discretionary authority, and making the determinations
set forth hereof, the County Administrator or his/her designee shall
give due consideration to stream flow conditions, water levels, available/usable
storage on hand, draw down rates and the projected supply capability
in the county; system purification and pumping capacity; daily water
consumption and consumption projections of the system's customers;
prevailing and forecast weather conditions; fire service requirements;
pipeline conditions including breakages, stoppages and leaks; supplementary
source data; estimates of minimum essential supplies to preserve public
health and safety and such other data pertinent to the past, current
and projected water demands.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to any governmental
activity, institution, business or industry which shall be declared
by the County Administrator or his/her designee, upon a proper showing,
to be necessary for the public health, safety and welfare or the prevention
of severe economic hardship or the substantial logs of employment.
Any activity, institution, business or industry aggrieved by the finding
of the County Administrator or his/her designee may appeal that decision
to the County Board of Supervisors.
Upon a determination by the County Administrator or his/her
designee of the existence of the following conditions, the County
Administrator shall take the following actions that shall apply to
all water users in the county:
A. Drought watch. When moderate but limited supplies of water are available
and a drought watch is declared in accordance with the Southwest Virginia
Regional Water Supply Plan, the County Administrator or his/her designee
shall, through appropriate means, call upon the general population
to employ prudent restraint in water usage. Public outreach activities
shall be identified to inform the general population of the potential
for drought conditions to intensify and of potential water conservation
activities that may be utilized.
B. Drought warning. The drought warning stage includes voluntary water
conservation actions due to the imminent onset of a significant drought
event.
(1) Customers will be asked to reduce outdoor water use by only using
water before 10:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. and by:
(b)
Using a broom, not the hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks;
(c)
Reducing vehicle washing;
(d)
Using bucket watering instead of hose watering when possible;
and
(e)
Turning off ornamental fountains.
(2) Customers will be asked to reduce indoor water use by:
(a)
Identifying and repairing leaks;
(b)
Turning off the water while shaving, brushing teeth, etc;
(c)
Reducing shower time to five minutes or taking baths with less
water;
(d)
Only using the clothes washer and dishwasher machines when there
are full loads;
(e)
Storing water in the refrigerator instead of running it to get
it cold; and
(f)
Installing water-saver devices in the home, such as low-flow
toilets and shower heads.
C. Drought emergency. As thought conditions continue to worsen, a drought
emergency may be declared by the County Administrator or his/her designee.
When a drought emergency is declared, the following mandatory water
restrictions are imposed:
(1) All public water uses not required for health or safety will be prohibited;
(2) Watering outdoor vegetation will be prohibited, except from a watering
can or other container not exceeding three gallons in capacity or
with recycled water. Any person regularly engaged in the sale of plants
will be permitted to irrigate only in amounts necessary to prevent
the loss of nursery stock;
(3) Washing vehicles except from a bucket or other container not exceeding
three gallons in capacity or with recycled water will be prohibited;
(4) Washing driveways, sidewalks, exteriors of homes or other outdoor
surfaces will be prohibited; however, any person regularly engaged
in the business of washing such areas shall be permitted to use water
for such purposes as long as the amount of water being used is minimized;
(5) The operation of any ornamental fountain or similar structure using
water will be prohibited;
(6) The filling or refilling of swimming pools or wading pools will be
prohibited;
(7) Restaurants and similar establishments will be prohibited from serving
water unless specifically requested by the customer; and
(8) Fire hydrant use will only be permitted for fire protection.
The County Administrator or his/her designee shall notify the
County Board of Supervisors when, in his/her opinion, the water emergency
situation no longer exists. Upon concurrence of the County Board of
Supervisors the water emergency shall be declared to have ended. When
this declaration is made, the information shall be conveyed to the
general public through the news media.