Despite rain showers Thursday morning, Durham still has a year-to-date rainfall deficit of approximately seven and a half inches and a supply of fresh water that will only last 68 more days.
In an effort to do their part, Duke and Durham representatives are enacting initiatives to keep the threat of a serious drought low.
President Richard Brodhead released an e-mail Nov. 13 to the student body encouraging the conservation of water on campus and announcing a new link on Duke's Web site that boasts conservation tips and recent drought news.
"Duke is the largest water consumer in the county, and we need to make changes in our operations and daily routines to conserve water now and in the foreseeable future," Brodhead said.
Duke is evaluating the measures that can be taken to reduce flow capacities in showers, toilets and sinks in order to become more prudent about conserving water, said Gary Thompson, director of facilities and operations for Residence Life and Housing Services.
There are also plans to install waterless hand sanitizing stations on campus that students can use instead of sinks with running water, Thompson added.
Kenneth Reckhow, professor of water resources at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, said if Durham's water supplies continue to decrease, the risk for lower-quality drinking water will increase.
"As water levels drop, there is an opportunity for sediments and contaminates to mix in," he said. "We are assured by the [Durham water treatment facilities] that drinking water will always meet certain standards. The Durham [Department of] Water Resources must be very diligent in adjusting its treatment levels [in times of drought]."
The spread of devastating wildfires in California has recently sparked concern that a similar situation may arise in North Carolina, but Norman Christensen, professor of ecology and founding dean of the Nicholas School, said such a scenario is improbable.
"Although extended drought does increase fire risk, the forests of this region are not particularly fire prone," he wrote in an e-mail. "This is especially true in the winter months. So, in localized areas, fire risk does go up, but we are not in danger of the sorts of fires that have visited the West in recent months."
Duke administrators and Durham officials are also exploring alternative conservation methods, such as reusing old water.
Recycling water from showers-known as producing grey water-is currently illegal in North Carolina due to the risk of spreading bacteria and viruses, but Reckhow said he believes the policy should be reconsidered because health risks from reusing grey water are actually very low.
Durham officials have passed a new plan for using treated waste water for non-domestic purposes such as watering golf courses, but it will take a few years for the policy to become completely effective, he added.
"Conservation practices and water reuse will be more commonplace in the U.S. going forward," Reckhow said.
Christensen added that as development increases and demand for natural resources rises, the continuation of conservation efforts becomes even more important,
"The biggest thing that has happened over the past several decades has been the explosive growth in human populations in the Southeast," he said. "The demand for water has also grown explosively.... That greatly increases the impacts of droughts when we have them."
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