Durham's reservoirs were 35% full on Oct. 29, with 86 days of easily accessible water left, the city says. Sprinklers stay banned under Stage 2.
Durham had 86 days of easily accessible water left in its reservoirs on Thursday, Oct. 29, and the reservoirs were at 35% of capacity. The figures come from the city’s Oct. 30 City Connect newsletter. Supply is down from 147 days on Aug. 9.
Updated Nov. 2: the city’s Oct. 30 newsletter gives the Oct. 29 figures, 35% storage and 86 days of supply, down from 36% and 90 days on Oct. 22. It says the area has an 18.6-inch rain deficit since August 2025 and that Durham County was in severe drought as of Oct. 27. Stage 2 still applies. The city’s lake levels page could not be read on Nov. 2, so the lake readings below are still from Oct. 21.
Updated Oct. 25: the city’s Oct. 22 snapshot shows storage down from 39.7% on Oct. 12 to 36%, and supply down from 92 days to 90. Both lakes have dropped again since Oct. 13. The city has posted no new written update since Oct. 12, and Stage 2 still applies.
Updated Oct. 16: the city’s Oct. 12 update says the Oct. 10-11 rain did little for the lakes. Storage fell from 41% to 39.7%, and the 10-day forecast shows little chance of rain.
The Department of Water Management’s last written update was its Oct. 12 update. Stage 2 water shortage restrictions, in force since June 15, remain in effect.
The city has warned that tighter limits could follow. “Based on current daily demand and the weather forecast, Stage 3 Water Shortage Response is still a possibility at some point in the future,” the department said in its Oct. 12 update, repeating the warning in its Oct. 5 update.
How fast the supply has dropped
The city reports its supply as the number of days of easily accessible water left at current demand.
| Date | Days of supply | Reservoir storage |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 9 | 147 | Not given |
| Aug. 26 | 125 | 51.64% |
| Oct. 4 | 96 | 42.15% |
| Oct. 8 | 92 | 41% |
| Oct. 11-12 | 92 | 39.7% |
| Oct. 22 | 90 | 36% |
| Oct. 29 | 86 | 35% |
The Oct. 22 figures are from the city’s Stage 2 page. The Oct. 29 figures are from the city’s Oct. 30 newsletter. The August figures are from the city’s Aug. 27 update. That update blamed part of the August drop on rising daily demand. It also said the city had cut back on buying water from Jordan Lake through the Town of Cary and had stopped buying water from the Orange Water and Sewer Authority.
How low the lakes are
Durham’s drinking water comes mainly from Lake Michie and Little River Reservoir, both in northern Durham County. The city’s lake levels page gave these provisional readings for Wednesday, Oct. 21:
- Lake Michie: 329.83 feet above sea level, about 11.2 feet below its full level of 341 feet.
- Little River Reservoir: 337.51 feet, about 17.5 feet below its full level of 355 feet.
Both lakes were lower than on Oct. 13, when the city recorded 330.50 feet and 338.34 feet, and on Oct. 8, when it recorded 330.96 feet and 338.80 feet.
The city is also treating water drawn from Teer Quarry and buying its allocation of Jordan Lake water from Cary, about 14 miles southeast, the Oct. 5 update said.
Did the Oct. 10-11 rain help?
No. The storms of Oct. 10 and 11 produced little rain over Durham’s watersheds, the city said in its Oct. 12 update. Lake storage kept falling after them.
The National Weather Service in Raleigh logged two-day rain totals of 1.53 inches and 1.05 inches at two Durham County stations, both in the south of the county. Raleigh-Durham International Airport measured 1.48 inches.
The city says rain in southern Durham County does not help its lakes. Their watersheds lie in the north of the county and to the west, and the city’s water shortage questions page says it takes something like a hurricane or tropical storm over those watersheds to refill them.
What you can and cannot do under Stage 2
These rules apply to City of Durham water customers. They do not apply to homes on private wells. The city’s Stage 2 page lists them:
- No spray irrigation of lawns or landscapes, including hose-end sprinklers. There are no watering days.
- Allowed: hand watering with a hose you hold, drip irrigation, soaker hoses and tree or shrub watering bags.
- No washing cars with city water, except at a commercial car wash that follows the rules.
- No washing sidewalks, driveways, decks or building exteriors, except for a health or safety reason or before painting.
- Pools: add water only to replace evaporation or spillage.
- Fountains and ponds: do not add water unless it is recycled.
- Restaurants serve drinking water only when a customer asks for it.
- Users of more than 100,000 gallons a day should cut use by 30% and document it.
Fines and complaints
The city’s penalties step up from a warning, to a notice of violation with no fine, to a $100 fine, a $250 fine and then disconnection of service.
Water Management had received 424 reports of possible violations by Oct. 12 and had issued 13 violations, the Oct. 12 update said. Reports can be made through the city’s water restriction violation form or by calling Durham One Call at 919-560-1200.
When it ends
Not soon. The city said it expects to stay in Stage 2 for the next three to four months. The restrictions end when Lake Michie and Little River Reservoir are full, or have a 95% chance of being full. Durham has four stages, ending with Stage 4, a water emergency.
What it means for you
- Turn off sprinkler timers and leave hose-end sprinklers in the shed. Hand watering and drip lines are still fine.
- Take the car to a commercial car wash.
- Expect a decision on Stage 3 to depend on rain over the northern county, not on how wet your own yard got this weekend.
- For outages and other utility contacts, see our power outages page, which also lists the city’s after-hours water line.
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