If your water bill comes from the Town of Granite Falls, you aren't allowed to water your lawn at all right now. The Town's Stage 2 Mandatory Water Reductions notice says it plainly: "No lawn watering or irrigation is permitted." Shrubs, trees, and flowers can be watered only from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., and only with a hand-held hose that has an automatic shutoff nozzle.
Across the county line, Hickory is at the same drought stage and handles lawns differently. Hickory customers can still irrigate up to two days a week, and newly planted grass and sod are exempt. Both towns are at Stage 2, but the rules differ because Granite Falls makes its own water and follows its own plan. Once you see that, it's easier to decide how to spend this fall's short, rationed watering hours.
Same Drought Stage, Different Rules for Your Yard
Both towns are reacting to the same declaration. On May 1, 2026, the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group put the Catawba-Wateree River Basin into Stage 2 of its Low Inflow Protocol. Hickory followed the same day under its own Water Shortage Response Plan. Granite Falls says its action follows the same regional drought conditions and was taken under its own Water Shortage Response Plan.
From there the two rulebooks split. Here's how they compare on the chores that come up most in October:
| Activity | Granite Falls water customers | Hickory water customers |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn irrigation | Not permitted | Up to two days a week, never on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday |
| New grass or sod | No exemption listed | Exempt |
| Shrubs, trees, flowers | Hand-held hose with auto shutoff, 7–9 a.m. and 7–9 p.m. | Covered by the irrigation schedule |
| Pool filling | Wednesdays and Saturdays, permit required | Not permitted for residential pools |
| Driveway and exterior washing | Prohibited unless necessary and approved | Residential vehicle washing not permitted |
| Restaurant water | Served only on request | Not listed |
Pools are the one place where Granite Falls allows more. Its rules let you fill a pool on two days a week with a permit, while Hickory's Stage 2 doesn't allow residential pool filling. The Town's notice doesn't explain why its lawn rule is stricter than Hickory's. It says the restrictions "build upon previously encouraged conservation measures, which are now mandatory and enforceable."
Your rules depend on who sends your water bill, not on which town your mailing address names. Hickory's Stage 2 covers more than Hickory itself. It also applies to Conover, Claremont, Brookford, Catawba, Long View, Maiden, parts of Alexander and Catawba counties, and the Icard Township Water Corporation. Two neighbors a few miles apart can be on different watering schedules this fall.
The Plant on Lakeside Avenue
The Town of Granite Falls Water Treatment Facility sits at 100 Lakeside Avenue, on the bank of Lake Rhodhiss. It draws surface water from the lake and treats it for more than 2,346 residential, 296 commercial, and 3 wholesale customers. The Town's 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report also lists treated Lake Rhodhiss water as the system's source.
The plant has room to spare. It opened in 1941 at a cost of $50,000 and could make 300,000 gallons a day. After an expansion finished in 1993, it can now produce 2,500,000 gallons a day, and it runs at about 50% of its permitted capacity. So the limit this fall isn't the equipment. It's the water in the lake. Stage 2, the Town says, means supply levels are "significantly below seasonal norms" and that "prolonged shortages are possible without immediate reductions in water use."
Duke Energy's lake dashboard tracks Lake Rhodhiss alongside Lake James and Lake Hickory, and lists each one under the basin's drought stage. The basin's drought group sets that stage with three formal indicators. They are stored reservoir water, water flowing into the reservoirs, and the U.S. Drought Monitor's drought ratings. When those numbers fall, every town drawing from these lakes feels it, and each one responds under its own plan.
Why September's Rain Didn't End It
You may have noticed more rain in September. The North Carolina drought assessment for the period ending September 29, 2026, found that Hickory had a wetter-than-normal September and that conditions improved in some western areas. The same assessment still showed 21.15% of the state in severe drought and 5.18% in extreme drought.
The reservoirs haven't caught up. As of September 30, Duke Energy's lake dashboard still listed Lake James at Stage 2. Hickory's drought page, updated October 2, still lists Stage 2 as "May 1, 2026 - Present" and describes reduced lake storage, falling streamflows, and worsening drought conditions. Hickory calls Stage 2 the third of five drought stages, with a goal of cutting overall water use by 5 to 10%.
The Granite Falls notice has no posted date, and the Town hasn't posted anything lifting it. When this was written, it was still up on both the Town's news page and its Water Department page. If you want to confirm the rules before a weekend project, the Water Department is at 828.396.3180.
Where to Spend Four Hours a Day
You get two hours each morning and two each evening, holding the hose yourself. That isn't enough to water everything, so deciding what to water matters more than how much. Caldwell County Cooperative Extension laid out a plant-by-plant ranking for drought in an April 16, 2026 article, and it fits the Granite Falls rules well.
- Trees and shrubs planted in the last two years. Extension calls these the most at risk because their roots aren't fully developed. Bare-root seedlings are more vulnerable than plants that came in containers.
- Evergreens heading into winter. Extension warns that drought symptoms in fall are especially dangerous for rhododendrons and spruce. Once the ground freezes, the plants can't take up water, and needles can die.
- Drought-sensitive ornamentals. Hydrangeas, Japanese maples, azaleas, and dogwoods often die in long dry spells without help, according to the same article.
- Established native trees. Extension lists these, along with Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass, among the plants that get through dry spells by slowing their growth.
While you're out with the hose, check your pines. Extension says bright brown needles with small, popcorn-like white to reddish pitch tubes on the bark can mean native pine beetles, which go after trees already weakened by drought.
Let the Lawn Go Brown, and Hold the Seed
Since the lawn can't be watered, Extension's advice on brown grass applies directly. A brown lawn is often dormant, not dead. Extension says it's actually less stressful for grass to stay dormant than to be pushed into a drought-stressed active state by light watering. It recommends setting the mower to its highest cutting height to shade the soil.
Fall is usually when tall fescue gets overseeded, and the rules make that hard this year. NC State Extension's lawn calendar for the western region recommends overseeding thin or bare spots from August 15 to September 1. It calls for keeping the seedbed moist with light watering several times a day and not letting the seedlings dry out. A Granite Falls customer can't do that this year. Seed spread now would depend on rain alone, so it makes more sense to save that money until watering is allowed again.
Extension also suggests using this stretch to take notes on which plants are doing well and which are failing. That record will help you plan beds that can handle both dry spells and the region's heavy rains.
The Rules Reach Past the Yard
The restrictions show up in a few other everyday places. If you eat out in Granite Falls, restaurants serve water only when you ask for it. Pressure-washing the driveway or siding before the holidays is off the list unless it's necessary and approved. Businesses and industrial customers fall under the same notice, which tells every customer to cut out unnecessary water use.
The same lake doubles as a town park. The Town's recreation page lists Lakeside Park as open, and the park page describes walking, hiking, and mountain-bike trails, a waterfront fishing deck, and a picnic shelter on the lake.
Water isn't the only utility the Town runs. Granite Falls is celebrating Public Power Week from October 4 to 10, 2026, along with more than 2,000 community-owned electric utilities across the country. A customer appreciation day with refreshments and free promotional items is set for Tuesday, October 6, at Town Hall. If you have a question about your own yard and the watering rules, that's an easy time to ask Town staff in person.
If the drought has you wondering what to do with a lawn, a new garden bed, or a pool before a sale, give me a call. I'm glad to share what I know about Granite Falls and help you plan around the current rules. You can reach me through Tiffany Ramirez. Let's Connect.
