Recent heavy rain has made a visible dent in the Triangle’s drought.
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Falls Lake, Raleigh’s primary drinking water source, had risen more than 2 feet over the past week.
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The increase marks a significant improvement. The lake’s water-supply storage rose from 66% full last week to 84% full Tuesday. Falls Lake had not been at that level since mid-April, shortly before Raleigh implemented Stage 1 water restrictions.
Last week, the lake stood at 246.1 feet, about 5.2 feet below normal pool. By Tuesday, it had risen to 248.4 feet, about 3.1 feet below normal pool, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The City of Raleigh reported a slight decrease in water use last week. Customers used an average of 58.16 million gallons per day, down from 58.27 million gallons per day the previous week.
The city also issued 31 additional warnings for water restriction violations and reported 95 new violations.
Edward Woodley, chief water manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Wilmington District, told WRAL the recent rainfall is encouraging but not enough to end conservation efforts.
"If it stops raining again, it's just going to be a temporary boost," Woodley said. "If we continue to get rain, it should be the start of the road to recovery."
Woodley added, "We're grateful for the rain, but we need more. It doesn't mean we can waste water at this point. We still want to conserve water as much as possible."
Falls Lake is the primary water source for more than 650,000 people in the area, including Raleigh, Garner, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon.
The lake’s water level had been steadily declining since late March, falling more than 6 feet below normal pool in early July.
The drought we are seeing has lasted nearly a year, beginning late last summer, and Falls Lake hasn't been at its normal level after dropping below pool in mid-September 2025.
Wintry weather briefly replenished some of the lake’s water supply in February and March, but those gains were short-lived as spring arrived and drought conditions intensified.
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The lake looked particularly rough in early July when it dropped nearly 6 feet under its normal level of 251.5 feet, the lowest it's been since the historic drought that began in 2007 when it dropped to record lows 10 feet below pond at one point.
However, recent rain seems to significantly improved the lake's outlook. Daily observations posted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' water management website showed Falls Lake had risen to 248.3 feet as of 8 a.m. Monday, nearly 2 feet above where it was just a week ago.
Visibly, the lake is also looking much better than it was weeks ago -- as you can see below from the photo taken at the Ledge Rock boat ramp.
Last week before the rain, the report showed Falls Lake was 5 feet below normal levels, which is roughly 66% of where it should be.
This has been the fourth wettest July ever recorded in Raleigh, and we've had more rain this month than in the last five months combined.
We will still need plenty more rain to bust the drought, but should we continue to see similar steady rain this summer -- the drought situation should continue to improve.
The U.S. Drought Monitor will also release its weekly report on drought conditions across the state on Thursday, and we expect to see some notable improvements there, as well.
