Stafford County officials today ended the water emergency that the county has been under since August 2007.

Levels at Stafford’s two reservoirs – Abel Lake and Smith Lake – are currently full because of the heavy rainfall over the last few months. The average water demand over the last seven days is about 10.2 million gallons per day.

The Board of Supervisors declared a public water supply emergency last summer because of the severe drought and the public’s high demand for service. The declaration authorized County Administrator Anthony Romanello to implement mandatory water restrictions as needed. Restrictions that prohibited the watering of lawns went into effect in Stafford in September 2007. The restrictions were increased in October 2007 to prohibit all outdoor watering. In mid-October, Stafford officials urged its water customers to conserve water indoors as well.

Heavy rainfall in the region earlier this year refilled Abel Lake and Smith Lake, and allowed the mandatory water restrictions to be decreased so that customers could water outdoors. In March, mandatory water restrictions were lifted, but County officials implemented a voluntary odd/even watering plan immediately. Under the plan, customers at odd-numbered addresses were able to water on odd-numbered days, and those at even-numbered addresses were allowed to water on even-numbered days.

Although the water supply emergency is over, customers should continue to use water wisely. Staff plans to launch a county-wide water conservation campaign within the next several weeks that will focus on sensible water usage. More information will be made available this summer.

For suggestions on how to conserve water, please visit the Department of Utilities Web site at www.staffordcountyva.gov. Select Departments in the dropdown menu on the left, and then select the link to Utilities. Individuals may also call Utilities at (540) 658-8616.

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