Thanks to recent changes to the Town of Cary's water conservation program, Cary utility customers in both Cary and Morrisville now have more flexibility when it comes to keeping vegetable gardens, plants, and shrubs irrigated.

Drip irrigation is now allowed any day of the week, including on Mondays when automated irrigation is prohibited; until now, customers could only hand water any day of the week.

And to help those who choose to establish or maintain lawns, the Alternate Day Watering exception period for seeding and setting out sod has increased from 21 to 45 days; a permit is required to take advantage of this option.

"Since our water conservation program began in 1996, we've worked very hard to achieve the community's goals for conservation in a balanced way that recognizes the desires of citizens to beautify their homes and the Town's need to protect our most vital resource," said Water Conservation Coordinator Marie Cefalo.

The Town also made minor adjustments to its water waste rules to clarify the Town's ability to work effectively with customers who significantly and/or chronically disregard the water conservation ordinance.

"The changes were prompted by a handful of incidents where there was absolute, flagrant abuse of our community's rules, and the Town discovered our ordinances didn't really support conclusive action," added Cefalo who said that the water waste changes will not adversely impact or even be noticed by the vast majority of customers served by Cary.

The Cary Town Council revised the water conservation program at its monthly meeting on May 14, 2009. Since the 2007-2008 drought, the Town has been working with regional agencies to increase the consistency of year-round water conservation measures and drought response plans.

For more on the Town's water conservation program, visit http://www.townofcary.org/depts/pwdept/water/waterconservation/overview.htm.