The good news this week in North Carolina, the drought is improving. Mecklenburg and surrounding counties went from severe to moderate status. And some areas to the East of Charlotte are now only considered abnormally dry.
That is reassuring to the 156,000 people statewide who work in landscaping. It’s been a tough two years for them, and now the economy is dealing yet another blow.
“A lot of our customers are dependent on new housing starts, and so with the housing industry slowed down and fuel is up, and the lack of water supply -- all of those things are negative effects on our industry,” said Buddy Murrow, who runs a landscape supply business on Mt. Holly Huntersville Rd.
Numbers out just this week back this up, showing housing starts are at a 17-year low.
“We’ve had to deal with the drought for two years now, and of course, the slowing economy has had a great impact on our industry as well,” Murrow said.
“It’s been a great struggle for all of the members of the Green Industry Council. We’ve had severe layoffs. We’ve had people going out of business. We’ve had several bankruptcies as well,” he said.
Landscape manager and designer Niki Smith says to survive businesses have had to reinvent themselves. She’s heard stories of companies suffering, but says her employer has been fortunate so far.
“Of course, we’ve diversified, selling other products like water services and more hardscapes, things that we can do even during a drought and slow construction,” she said.
If there is a silver lining in what has been somewhat of a dark cloud, Murrow says the recent weather is it.
“We need to celebrate what’s occurring. We’re seeing beneficial rains. The soil moisture is up and the temperatures are down. So, it’s a great time to do planting and take advantage of the one day a week watering we do have,” said Murrow.
At his Shepherds Landscape Supply, water is certainly a precious commodity.
“We’ve taken it for granted way too long. That’s been a great discovery for a lot of people who thought that the irrigation system needed to run everyday,” said Murrow.
Shepherds uses two retention ponds to catch and reuse runoff. A well serves as backup when levels get too low.
Murrow is part of the Drought Management Advisory Group, which keeps watch on water levels and restrictions needed to maintain supply. It’s made up of at least 12 drinking water utilities, like Charlotte-Mecklenburg, along with representatives from Duke Energy and the North Carolina Green Industry Council, of which Murrow is a member.
As Murrow remains positive about the future of the business he loves, he’s adopted a strong stance when it comes to water restrictions.
“We’re recommending to members of DMAG that we never return to all out watering as we have in the past," he said. "At best, three days a week is all we need. At times, we can do less than that depending on the time of the year and the temperatures.”
Water Restriction Update
In researching this story, WCNC talked to representatives from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities and Duke Energy. It seems lake levels are good right now, but groundwater and streams remain the problem. At this point, CMU has no plans to ease restrictions. But there is a meeting scheduled next week with the Drought Management Advisory Group.