The drought is officially over after steady rainfall the past few months and water conservation measures implemented during the area's nearly two-year dry spell.
The announcement was made last week by the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group. The CW-DMAG, which includes Morganton, announced that steady improvement of groundwater and streamflow conditions moved the Catawba River Basin's drought conditions to normal.
Morganton City Manager Sally Sandy appreciates how customers responded to calls to save water during the drought.
"I think everyone has learned some valuable lessons about water conservation and many of our residents have changed the way they use water day-to-day," Sandy said. "Although the situation has returned to normal, I hope we all remember that our water supply is a very precious and limited natural resource. We should all do our best to always use water wisely."
Morganton and other communities in the Upper Catawba River Basin lifted water-use restrictions in April in response to continuing improvements in basin water levels
Hickory and Morganton, along with the CW-DMAG, will continue to monitor the Catawba River Basin to see if the basin continues in normal conditions or falls back into a drought as summer arrives, which is highly dependent upon future rainfall patterns, according to a press release issued by the city of Hickory.
The 2007-09 drought was the worst ever recorded in the Catawba River Basin, officials said.
The CW-DMAG was formed to regularly review the drought status and to recommend and coordinate needed actions for CW-DMAG members. It also reviews the Low Inflow Protocol and recommends possible improvements to Duke Energy.
What is the CW-DMAG?
Normally scheduled to meet once a year, the the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group has received weekly drought status reports since late summer 2007 and has met as a group at least monthly.
CW-DMAG members include the area's public water suppliers and several large industrial users that withdraw water from the Catawba River Basin, N.C. and S.C. agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey and Duke Energy.
The CW-DMAG and Low Inflow Protocol are outcomes of Duke Energy's relicensing process for the Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project.
The LIP will become part of Duke Energy's new license for the project to be issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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