Despite the recent scattered showers this past weekend, much of Western North Carolina is under “exceptional” drought conditions according to U.S. Drought Monitor information released last week. This “exceptional” classification is considered the most serious stage of drought.

Most residents don’t realize the severity of the drought we are now experiencing, yes we have had some timely rains and your grass may be green, but take a drive around the county and you will find the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the hill.

I like to fly fish, but with some the rivers at a mere trickle of their normal flow, it’s giving a whole new meaning to the term “dry fly” fishing. There’s barely enough water in some of the streams to wet a fly, let alone provide a community with drinking water. This situation has gotten the attention of lawmakers in Raleigh.

Last week in Raleigh legislation was introduced in a House committee to implement water conservation measures that would require a reduction in water usage by 20 percent in areas under the most serious stage of drought, and a 10 percent reduction for those under the second worst stage. What this means is anyone’s guess, and the bill is sure to undergo changes in committee before it is voted on. The initial reading proposed authority for cities and counties to limit the uses of private wells for watering lawns and plants. Don’t give up on your tomatoes just yet, this part of the bill will more than likely be dropped.

So how does this affect you? All of WNC is considered under drought conditions, so the 10 percent reductions would apply to most; however, nine western counties fall under the exceptional classification requiring a 20 percent reduction in water usage. Currently Asheville, Waynesville, Canton and Clyde fall under this category but are not implementing any type of water restriction measures.

A week ago my daughter, wife and I traveled to Raleigh to attend freshman orientation at N.C. State where Ellen Anne will be attending in the fall. While we were there you could not help but to notice the very public effort to conserve water.

In the hotel we stayed the shower and faucets were fitted with low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators — this change alone reduces the water usage by one gallon per minute for each appliance. On the N.C. State campus all the residence halls, campus restrooms and gymnasiums have also been fitted with the water saving devices.

While on campus for orientation you could not venture into any restroom without running across fliers taped to the doors, walls and mirrors urging water conservation or asking to report any dripping faucets or water leaks to University maintenance. In an effort to reduce water usage the campus dinning halls have even stopped providing trays — one less thing to wash — to carry your food. The university uses some 800,000 gallons of water on a daily basis.

Water conservation efforts on campus have even led to a friendly competition between the students of N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill to see which school’s students living in residence halls could conserve the most water by reducing water usage.

At the beginning of the 95-day H2O conservation throwdown, N.C. State students were calculated to use 31 gallons of water per day, with the students at Carolina using 34 gallons per day.

How did this contest end? Well let’s just say that Carolina talks a good game when it comes to water conservation, but they’re no match for the Wolfpack. N.C. State student’s reduced their water usage to 22 gallons per day, while the students at Carolina could only drop their usage to 26 gallons per day. The percent per day reduction by N.C. State students was near 30 percent to Carolina’s 24 percent — a blowout by statistical proportions. (Hey, don’t even bring up basketball; compared to saving water it just doesn’t hold ... well, water.)

According to statistics gathered this year by WaterPartners International, the average American uses between 100 to 176 gallons of water at home each day. In comparison, the average African family uses about 5 gallons of water each day. Of the earth’s population, one in six people lack access to an improved water supply.

Recently I was having trouble with my well. More specifically, I had a break in my waterline somewhere down in my well. A crack in the line kept the well pump running continuously because it could not build enough pressure to cut off. How did I know I was having a problem? As water drained back into the well it stirred up the sediment and discolored my water. Also, my electric bill doubled for the month.

When I pulled my pump out of the well last week I was one of the 1.1 billion people worldwide that lacked access to an improved water supply. Even though it was only for eight hours, it really emphasized the necessity for accessible clean water. You don’t realize how much water you use in normal daily activities until you lose access to it.

If we continue in a drought cycle like we have seen for the last several years — reports have us at 7 inches below normal rainfall for the year — we here in WNC will need to start conserving our water resources, regardless whether it’s legislated from Raleigh or through voluntary measures.

As for N.C. State keeping an upper hand in water conservation over Carolina, it will only happen again if my daughter – queen of the long showers – does her part this fall.

(David Curtis teaches middle school in Haywood County and in support of NC State students and water conservation has decided to forgo bathing this summer. He can be reached at dcurtis@haywood.k12.nc.us.)