Rocky Mount residents and businesses asked to conserve water

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. (WDBJ) — The Town of Rocky Mount is asking residents to voluntarily conserve water.

The Town is requesting:

Please limit or defer the following:

• Lawn and garden irrigation. (Established lawns can recover from dormancy.)

• Washing vehicles, siding, decks, driveways, and sidewalks.

• Filling or topping off swimming pools.

Please do the following:

• Check for leaks at your home or business. A running toilet or a dripping outdoor spigot wastes more water than most households can save by any other means.

• Report water leaks. Call the Town Office at (540) 483-5243 if you see water leaks (water running in the street, water pooling around water meters, etc.).

• Run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads (instead of small or partial loads).

• Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator rather than running the faucet to get it cold.

The Town is not asking anyone to stop ordinary, indoor water use (drinking, cooking, bathing, laundry, and sanitation, etc.), but instead, to reduce water usage when possible—shorter showers, not letting water run when washing dishes, etc.

Town officials report they are:

• Monitoring the river flow and gauge height for changing river conditions.

• Adjusting water system operations to conserve more water.

• Monitoring water loss and repairing water leaks as quickly as possible.

Rocky Mount made the following announcement:

Over the past year, the entire Commonwealth of Virginia has seen significantly lower than average rainfall. The region around the Town of Rocky Mount has received approximately half of the rain that would fall in a normal or average year. This has impacted creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, and aquifers in the area. Due to the significant reduction in rainfall over the past year, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality currently has the Roanoke Region (including the Town of Rocky Mount) in a Drought Emergency based on precipitation, groundwater levels, streamflow, and reservoir levels. Most regions in Virginia are experiencing some level of drought. Virginia’s Governor has asked all Virginians to look for ways to conserve water and has even visited the Roanoke region at least once to meet with officials and reiterate the need to conserve water.

The Town of Rocky Mount is required to adopt a Drought Response and Water Emergency Plan. That Plan details specific triggers that require the Town to go into various voluntary and mandatory stages of water conservation. The triggers include flow levels of the Blackwater River (the Town’s main source of water), water demand/usage, rainfall, weather forecasts, outages at the water plant, or other actions taken at the state level. Now that we have reached several of those triggers, the Town is required to enter Stage Two: Water Concern and Voluntary Conservation. This means that the Town is now asking all residential and commercial customers to voluntarily reduce outdoor and non-essential water use until further notice.

It is important to note that the Town’s water is safe to drink, and the supply is adequate at this time. This is a request for prudence, not a restriction.

Why is the Town asking customers to conserve?

• The Town draws its water directly from the Blackwater River. Town staff have been monitoring the river’s flow and gauge height, which has reached levels that prompted this voluntary water conservation request.

• Franklin County lies within the Roanoke River drought evaluation region, which the Commonwealth has placed under a drought emergency advisory.

If the Blackwater River flow continues to decline, the next step is mandatory restrictions. Voluntary reductions now will help reduce the amount of water withdrawn from the river. If you need more information, please contact the Town’s Utility Department at utility@rockymountva.org or (540) 483-5243.