As drought intensifies, Raleigh gets ready for tougher restrictions -- but no development freeze

This Friday, Feb. 15, Raleigh will move to mandatory Stage 2 water conservation measures. The move comes as Falls Lake, the city's main water source, has fallen to 30 percent of its capacity, with only about 107 days of water left if no significant rains come.

According to the city's official announcement about the Stage 2 rules, they ban the use of public water for irrigation and prohibit home car washes. They also prevent builders from using fresh public water to conduct the tests of new water connections that must occur before newly built homes and businesses can be legally occupied.

However, the rules do allow testing of connections using city water that's then captured, hauled to the treatment plant on Falls of the Neuse Road, and placed back into the raw water supply. So new development will still be able to continue under the Stage 2 restrictions.

Which raises some questions: If Raleigh doesn't have enough water to sustain its current population in the face of continued dry weather, how can it allow new development to continue? Even if the builders aren't testing connections with potable water, won't the new arrivals inhabiting those homes further drain Falls Lake?