Durham, along with most of North Carolina, still needs rain. The drought that grips the state has now lasted twice as long as previous droughts.

Durham is listed as being in a condition of exceptional drought, along with 67 other North Carolina counties.

Stage IV restrictions were implemented Dec. 3.

These mandatory restrictions require businesses to reduce their water usage by 50 percent.

Residents are prohibited from watering lawns, washing cars in driveways, and filling swimming pools. Restaurants are not to serve water unless requested.

Currently, 143 days of easily accessible premium water remain.

This is up from October when Durham had just 75 days of premium water.

Premium water is water that can be inexpensively processed into drinking water.

Water levels at Lake Michie, the primary source of water for Durham, is 17 feet below normal. Little River Reservoir, another source of water for the city, is 27 feet below normal.

James Lim, a Durham conservation coordinator, said the drought has forced Durham to tap into the Teer Quarry to augment water supplies from Lake Michie and the Little River Resevoir.

Lim said the mandatory restrictions have helped, but rain is still needed.

“We continue to educate the community and businesses on the importance of conserving our water resources,” said Lim.

According to experts, the average American home uses about 70 gallons of water per day.

When industrial and agricultural uses get added, the per person average consumption is about 500,000 gallons per year.

N.C. Central University is doing its part to aid efforts to conserve water.

According to Larry Alston, NCCU plumbing supervisor, the installation of sensor-operated toilets and sinks last year has reduced water consumption significantly.

Tuy Tran, assistant director of facilities services, said that NCCU has decreased usage by 1 million gallons per month in the last 19 months.

Some students say they are aware of the water crisis.

English senior Kiniko Moore, a Campus Crossing resident, said he has tried to be more conscious about using water.

“Since the drought has come, I have cut back on washing my car as well as doing laundry twice a month instead of doing it four times a month,” said Moore.

But others say they aren’t too alarmed by the drought.

“I haven’t really noticed any of the students doing anything different,” said mass communication senior Rhy’sha Massey, a resident at Eagle Landing.

“But I do know that there are signs up in my building informing the residents about the need to conserve water.”

Raleigh has issued even tougher water restrictions that prohibit the non-essential use of water for commercial or public use.

Water levels at Raleigh’s main source of water, Falls Lake, are at the lowest levels ever recorded. The Army Corp of Engineers projects that the lake will run dry this coming summer.

Ironically, some the largest water consumers in Raleigh, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, use Raleigh municipal water for its bottled water operations.

According to the Independent newspaper, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are protected by law from disclosing how much water they draw from Raleigh’s municipal water system.

The paper reported that North Carolina has a total of 28 bottling plants drawing on municipal water systems.

This is the bottled water that Durham residents will have to buy at retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart and Target, if the tap runs dry.

Having to purchase water at retail outlets would affect the poor the most.

Deputy City Manager of Durham Ted Voorhees said at a Jan. 8 public meeting that Durham was not going to be “in the business of helping provide water to citizens if the taps are turned off.”

Hope Taylor, executive director of Clean Water of North Carolina, is quoted in the Independent as responding to Voorhees’ presentation with this:

“‘Let them drink bottled water.’”

“That’s what Voorhees is telling Durham residents. We don’t have any responsibility to prevent such a scenario, and we’ll just throw you into a market where the water’s a thousand times more expensive when we run out.”

And if the stores run out? Then and only then can the state and cities intervene.

According to the Independent, North Carolina has signed a non-competing contract with retailers. This contract states that the state will not compete against retailers in the provisioning of bottled water.

And if the retailers run dry?

North Carolina has stockpiled 50,000 gallons of water in two warehouses, according to the Independent.

But this is not even enough drinking water to take care of Durham residents for a full day.

Recent conservation measures have shown some success. Durham’s water consumption has been cut by 40 percent.

But has Durham learned its lesson?

During the severe 2001-2002 drought, Durham council member Eugene Brown tried several times to raise the issue of Durham’s water consumption, but got nowhere.

At one point during the drought, Durham was just 17 days away from running out of premium water.

“What the hell have we done since 2002?” said Brown to the Independent.