Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee that a moderate
drought condition is present and is expected to persist and/or upon
determination by the Walhalla Water Department that a moderate water
supply shortage exists based on trigger levels, the Walhalla Water
Department will seek voluntary reductions from its customers in the
use of water for all purposes and voluntary reductions on using water
during certain peak water demand periods. Specifically, the goal during
this phase is to achieve a reduction of 20% in residential water use
and 15% in other water uses such as commercial, industrial, institutional
and irrigation; and a reduction in overall water use of 15%. To accomplish
this, the Walhalla Water Department will take the following actions:
A. Issue a proclamation to be released to local media, the Walhalla
Water Department's customers and to the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources Drought Information Center that moderate drought
conditions are present.
B. Provide written notification to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish
in a newspaper of general circulation in the service area of the water
system the voluntary conservation measures that the customers are
requested to follow during moderate drought conditions, including:
(1) Reduce residential water use to 75 gallons per person per day and
a maximum of 300 gallons per household per day;
(2) Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking
lots, tennis courts and other hard-surfaced areas;
(3) Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate
fire protection;
(4) Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
(5) Eliminate the domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars, etc.;
(6) Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection ponds
and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except
where necessary to support aquatic life;
(7) Reduce watering of lawns, plants, trees, gardens, shrubbery and flora
on private or public property to the minimum necessary. Encourage
outdoor watering to be done during off-peak hours.
(8) Reduce the amount of water obtained from fire hydrants for construction
purposes, fire drills or for any purpose other than fire-fighting
or flushing necessary to maintain water quality; and
(9) Limit normal water use by commercial and individual customers, including,
but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Stop serving water in addition to another beverage routinely
in restaurants;
(b)
Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds
and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support aquatic
life;
(c)
Cease water service to customers who have been given a ten-day
notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so.
C. Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks
in the distribution system.
D. Cease to install new irrigation taps on the water system.
E. Continue to encourage and educate customers to comply with voluntary
water conservation.
F. Provide written notification monthly to the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources Drought Information Center regarding the success
of the voluntary and mandatory restrictions.
Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee that a severe
drought condition is present and is expected to persist and/or upon
determination by the Walhalla Water Department that a severe water
supply shortage exists based on trigger levels, the Walhalla Water
Department will seek voluntary reduction in the use of water for all
purposes and mandatory restrictions on nonessential usage and restrictions
on times when certain water usage is allowed. Specifically, the goal
during this phase is to achieve a reduction of 25% in residential
water use, 20% in all other water use categories and a reduction in
overall water use of 20%. To accomplish these goals, the Walhalla
Water Department will take the following actions:
A. Issue a proclamation to be released to the local media, the Walhalla
Water Department's customers and to the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources Drought Information Center that severe drought
conditions are present.
B. Provide written notification to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish
in a newspaper of general circulation in the service area of the water
system the voluntary conservation measures and mandatory restrictions
to be placed on the use of water supplied by the utility, including:
(1) Voluntary reduction of residential water use by the utility's customers
to 65 gallons per person per day and a maximum of 250 gallons per
household or REU per day.
(2) Control landscape irrigation by the utility's customers by staggering
watering times.
(3) Mandatory restrictions on the use of water supplied by the utility
for activities, including:
(a)
Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways,
parking lots, tennis courts and other hard-surfaced areas;
(b)
Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than
immediate fire protection;
(c)
Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
(d)
Eliminate domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars, etc.;
(e)
Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection
ponds and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes,
except where necessary to support aquatic life;
(f)
Eliminate filling or maintaining public or private swimming
pools;
(g)
Eliminate obtaining water from fire hydrants for construction
purposes, fire drills or any purpose other than fire-fighting or flushing
necessary to maintain water quality.
(4) Limit use of water by commercial and individual customers, including,
but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Stop serving water in addition to another beverage routinely
in restaurants;
(b)
Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds
and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support aquatic
life;
(c)
Limit irrigating golf courses and any portion of their grounds;
(d)
Cease water service to customers who have been given a ten-day
notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so; and
(e)
Limit expanding commercial nursery facilities, placing new irrigated
agricultural land in production or planting or landscaping when required
by site design review process.
C. Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks
in the distribution system.
D. Continue to cease installation of new irrigation taps on the water
system.
E. Publicize widely the penalties to be imposed for violations of mandatory
restrictions and the procedures to be followed if a variance in the
restrictions is requested.
F. Expand the use of education and public relations efforts and emphasize
the penalties associated with violating the mandatory restrictions.
G. Provide written notification monthly to the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources Drought Information Center regarding the success
of the voluntary and mandatory restrictions.
Upon notification by the Drought Response Committee that an
extreme drought condition is present and is expected to persist and/or
upon determination by the Walhalla Water Department that an extreme
water supply shortage exists based on the trigger levels, the Walhalla
Water Department will impose mandatory restrictions in the use of
water for all purposes and on the times when certain water usage is
allowed. Specifically, the goal during this phase is to achieve a
reduction of 30% in residential water use, 25% in all other categories
of water uses and a reduction in overall water use of 25%. To accomplish
these goals, the Walhalla Water Department will take the following
actions:
A. Issue a proclamation to be released to the local media, the Walhalla
Water Department customers and to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources Drought Information Center that extreme drought
conditions are present;
B. Provide written notification to the South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources Drought Information Center and routinely publish
in a newspaper of general circulation in the service area of the water
system the mandatory restrictions to be placed on the use of water
supplied by the utility, including:
(1) Limiting residential water use to 55 gallons per person per day and
a maximum of 225 gallons per household or REU per day.
(2) Eliminate landscape irrigation by the utility's customers.
(3) Mandatory restrictions on the use of water supplied by the utility
for activities, including:
(a)
Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways,
parking lots, tennis courts and other hard-surfaced areas;
(b)
Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than
immediate fire protection;
(c)
Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
(d)
No domestic washing of motorbikes, boats, cars, etc.;
(e)
Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection
ponds, and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes,
except where necessary to support aquatic life.
(f)
Eliminate filling or maintaining public or private swimming
pools;
(g)
Eliminate obtaining water from fire hydrants for construction
purposes, fire drills or any purpose other than firefighting or flushing
necessary to maintain water quality.
(4) Limit normal water use by commercial and individual customers, including,
but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Stop serving water in addition to another beverage routinely
in restaurants;
(b)
Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds
and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support fish
and wildlife;
(c)
Limit irrigating golf courses and any portion of their grounds;
(d)
Cease water service to customers who have been given a ten-day
notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so; and
(e)
Limit expanding commercial nursery facilities, placing new irrigated
agricultural land in production or planting or landscaping when required
by site design review process.
C. Intensify maintenance efforts to identify and correct water leaks
in the distribution system.
D. Continue to cease installation of new irrigation taps on the water
system.
E. Outline other conservation measures; examples are:
(1) Place a moratorium on the issuance of all new water service connections
and contracts for all new water main extensions. As part of the public
information process, provide notice to developers of the moratorium;
(2) Encourage all residential water customers to voluntarily reduce overall
monthly water usage to 70% of the customer's monthly average.
(3) Impose a drought surcharge per thousand gallons of water that increases
with higher usage. The general principle behind the drought surcharge
is that the fee is imposed on water use in excess of 70% of normal
use. The drought surcharge is a temporary fee imposed during the current
water supply shortage and is not a cost-based rate. The drought surcharge
is temporary and will be terminated at such time as the Walhalla Water
Department determines the water supply is above the trigger levels.
F. Publicize widely the penalties to be imposed for violations of mandatory
restrictions and the procedures to be followed if a variance in the
restrictions is requested.
G. Expand the use of education and public relations efforts as conducted
under the moderate and severe drought phase and emphasize the penalties
associated with violating the mandatory restrictions.
H. Provide written notification monthly to the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources Drought Information Center regarding the success
of the voluntary and mandatory restrictions.
If a drought threatens the protection of public health and safety,
the Walhalla Water Department is hereby authorized to ration water.