By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — While many areas of the High Country received plenty of rain in May and June, the Blowing Rock area watershed area did not, Town Manager Shane Fox told Town Council at its regular meeting on July 9. With the town’s water reservoir approximately five feet below normal levels, Fox said he was declaring a “Stage 1” drought alert asking residents and commercial businesses to voluntarily conserve water.
In his closing remarks of the meeting’s open session, Fox said, “I want to make you aware that we have some water concerns following the drought we have experienced over the past five weeks. There has been rain in places the last week or so, but it has been hit and miss. The reservoir for the town has not been the recipient of a lot of rain, unfortunately, only less than an inch in the past week. Other places have received more.
“This is also our busiest time of the year. Our water plant, which typically produces 500,000 to 600,000 gallons of water per day has been producing 900,000 gallons a day. That is partly a testament to the number of folks we have had in town (over the holiday weekend), coupled with the very little rain, our reservoir is at a point where we need to go into Stage 1 conservation.”
Fox cited Chapter 14 of the Town Code, Subchapter 5 as relating to water shortage when supply falls short of demand, authorizes the Town Administrator to declare a Stage 1 water advisory. A Stage 1 advisory calls on the citizens to implement voluntary water conservation measures, including:
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- Limit lawn watering to that which is necessary for plants to survive.
- Limit vehicle washing to a minimum.
- Do not wash down outside areas such as sidewalks, patios, parking lots, service bays or aprons, etc.
These measure apply to both residential and commercial properties.
“Last year we had eight inches of rain in June and the spillway was overflowing,” Fox noted to the council members. “This year we did not and the reservoir level is five feet below the spillway. That is our concern.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other Town Council meeting business, the commissioners approved amended language for the board composition of the Tourism Development Authority. Blowing Rock TDA Executive Director Tracy Brown explained that when the TDA was first formed 20 years ago, most of the lodging establishments in town were resident owners. Today, he said, many if not most of the lodging owners do not live in the immediate area. So the new language enables them to appoint a “designee” to sit on the TDA board, subject to approval by the Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners.
In the Consent Agenda, Town Clerk Hilari Hubner was provided authorization as the Town’s tax collector and Skyworks Pro was granted approval for the Chetola Resort fireworks display at Symphony by the Lake.
