Stage 2 Water Conservation Alert: Addressing Irrigation Schedule Questions & Expressing Our Thanks

Residents who have questions should contact their water service provider directly or Brunswick County Public Utilities at 910.253.2657 or utilityadmin@brunswickcountync.gov.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Brunswick County wishes to share our appreciation to water customers who have taken diligent steps to follow the mandatory irrigation schedule and best practices related to the ongoing Stage 2 Water Conservation Alert due to the Extreme Drought (D3) conditions affecting our county.

Extreme Drought is the second-highest tier on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale and North Carolina statutes mandate that water systems implement significant water conservation measures.

Your efforts are helping to spread out the demands on our system by limiting irrigation use to late nights and early mornings. As we head into Independence Day weekend, please continue to follow this mandatory irrigation schedule. 

Irrigation demands represent the bulk of non-essential water use, so a primary way that customers can reduce water usage is to limit irrigation. Following these tips may also help you save many gallons of water or irrigation use on your next bill.

Brunswick County has received some questions about the irrigation schedule time frames that we wish to clarify for customers. Thank you for your questions and patience as we work together to help conserve water during this Extreme Drought period.

How the Schedule Works

The mandatory irrigation schedule requires water customers to only use their irrigation systems on specific days using a staggered schedule.

You are permitted to start irrigation at 8 PM on three specific nights based on whether your address number is an odd or an even number, or a non-addressed facility. You may irrigate beginning on those three days starting at 8 PM through 4 AM the following day.

Example: If you are a customer with an even address number, you are allowed to start irrigating beginning at 8 PM on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and must have your irrigation systems turned off by 4 AM the following mornings (i.e., by 4 AM on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Mondays). Only addresses with even numbers may irrigate between 12 AM to 4 AM on Mondays to ensure all properties have an equal amount of time each week when irrigation is permitted. 

Stage 2 Mandatory Irrigation Schedule

Water customers may only water lawns and landscaping with automatic irrigation systems (spray irrigation, drip irrigation, etc.) less than one inch of water per week, between the hours of 8 PM and 4 AM in accordance with the following schedule. This includes irrigation for residential lawns, landscaping, athletic fields, golf courses that do not use private groundwater wells or reclaimed water, etc.

• No irrigating on Mondays (except for even addresses between 12 AM to 4 AM)
• Properties with odd-numbered addresses (ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) and non-addressed facilities may irrigate any time during the 8-hour period beginning at 8 PM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through 4 AM the next mornings
• Properties with even-numbered addresses (ending in 2, 4, 6, 8, 0) may irrigate any time during the 8-hour period beginning at 8 PM on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays through 4 AM the next mornings

A key difference between the Stage 1 Voluntary Water Conservation Alert and the Stage 2 MANDATORY Water Conservation Alert is that non-compliance may result in the assessment of significant fees and possible discontinuation of water service. Brunswick County will be monitoring irrigation use as long as the Stage 2 Water Conservation Alert is in place.  

Brunswick County Public Utilities will notify properties that may be out of compliance with the MANDATORY irrigation schedule or other required actions through the ReadyBrunswick notification system and/or using the contact information associated with the property’s utility account. Phone calls or messages issued through the ReadyBrunswick notification system will come from the phone number 910-253-1799 (this phone number is automated and cannot receive incoming calls).

Brunswick County will continue to monitor the drought conditions and water usage to determine whether a Stage 3 Water Shortage Warning with Mandatory Restrictions may become necessary. In Stage 3, any use of automatic sprinkler systems for residential and commercial lawn and landscape irrigation is prohibited.

Learn more about the Stage 2 Mandatory Water Conservation Alert on our website here.

Information and any updates can be found at brunswickcountync.gov/WaterWise.

-30-