Falls Lake could go dry this summer

Winter rain is not refilling Raleigh's water source. Engineers say the city's share could be gone by July

(The News & Observer) - Midway through an exceptionally dry winter, with Falls Lake more than half-empty, water managers are starting to voice the once-unthinkable: Raleigh's drought-ravaged reservoir could go dry this year.

Federal engineers who manage the reservoir have assessed the lake's unprecedented low winter level, the expected demand and forecasts of continuing drought and concluded that the once sprawling body of water could disappear as early as this summer.

If current weather and use patterns continue, the city's designated share of Falls Lake could be depleted in June or July, according to a new Army Corps of Engineers report. Tapping the lake's surplus layer of bottom water could extend the supply anywhere from several weeks to two or three months.