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 GUC Encourages Water Conservation
In light of the extreme drought facing our state, Governor Easley has called upon North Carolinians to voluntarily conserve water or face the possibility of mandatory restrictions. At the local level, Greenville Utilities officials are monitoring drought conditions closely, and are also encouraging the wise use of water to protect this vital natural resource.
Availability of water and treatment capacity has not been a problem thus far, but GUC officials are keeping a careful watch on river levels. “We have been fortunate,” said Ron Elks, GUC’s General Manager/CEO. “We do not have a problem at this point, and we don’t foresee problems in the near future. A combination of geographical location and an adequate surface water supply have worked in our favor. But the drought in our state is severe, and we are watching the situation very carefully.”
Unlike many other water systems that rely on reservoirs, Greenville Utilities withdraws the majority of its water from the Tar River. Although river levels are low, with the lowest-ever average stream flow, GUC reports no problems in meeting customer demand to date. GUC’s Water Treatment Plant has the capacity to treat 22.5 million gallons of water a day (mgd). In August, customers used an average of 13.3 mgd for the month, compared to the annual average of 10 mgd. “Our all-time peak day was 16 mgd in 1999,” said Mr. Elks. “We came close to that record this year on August 20th when our peak day was 15.4 mgd.”
Greenville Utilities encourages customers to monitor water usage and use only what they need, year round. “It makes good sense from both an environmental and economic standpoint to do so,” said Mr. Elks.
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