The nearly year-long drought is steadily receding and lake levels are rising again this week, and there's more good news on the horizon.
With more rain in the forecast this week, drought conditions are expected to steadily improve. Should the rainfall totals hold steady, it could bring an end to the drought for Wake County and other areas by the end of August.
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Lake levels see another rise
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided updated levels for Falls Lake.
The lake saw another rise, although not nearly as much of a rise as the more than 2 feet rise to the lake's levels last week. Falls Lake was at 248.7 feet on Tuesday, up a few inches from last week. The lake now needs less than 3 feet of water elevation to be back at its "normal" level.
The lake's supply pool is now up to 87%, which experts said approaches a typical level seen during the seasonal ebb and flow of lake levels.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the "normal" level for the lake is set at 251.5 feet year-round to balance having extra room for floodwater storage alongside keeping the area's drinking water supply topped off.
A 2017 water reallocation study showed the lake typically doesn't see impacts to boating and recreational activity unless it drops below 247 feet, which was the case earlier in July when the lake was roughly 6 feet below normal elevation.
Slowly lifting restrictions
The continued good news comes after the city of Raleigh on Monday lifted its water restrictions that have been in place for months.
The city said the Stage One water restrictions that limited the times people could use sprinklers and ground irrigation systems are lifted as of Monday, August 3.
"While recent rain has made a big difference, dry conditions will continue across our region. Falls Lake is not yet back to full capacity, and it is important to continue using water wisely," the city said. "Thank you for helping protect Raleigh’s water supply. Every drop counts."
Other towns, such as Fuquay-Varina, also lifted its Stage 1 water restrictions on Monday.
Some counties opt to keep restrictions
The ongoing drought has prompted several counties and towns to keep water restrictions in place.
Below is a map showing which counties have water restrictions in place. Some parts of Wake County, such as Cary and Apex, remain under a year-round conservation effort.
Drought removal likely
We will still need to see several more inches of widespread heavy rain to make up for the dry weather that has persisted for close to a full year, but it's looking like it will no longer take a tropical system to make up the difference.
The last update from the U.S. Drought Monitor as of Thursday, July 30, showed significant improvement in drought conditions across most of the state.
It's updated outlook showed drought removal was likely for more than half of the state by the end of August, should rainfall expectations for the month hold true.
Areas that could see the drought end include Wake County and most of surrounding counties. Other areas in deeper drought conditions across the Carolinas are expected to see local improvements.
Some parts of the Triangle went from extreme drought to moderate drought in just a week. The northeastern portion of the state, which had been abnormally dry, was out of the drought after the rain we saw, along with a couple portions of Western North Carolina in the Asheville and Robbinsville areas.
