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Drought Management Policy Update – City of Loris (07/01/2026)

7/1/2026

Drought Management Policy Update – City of Loris (07/01/2026)

07/01/2026:    The South Carolina State Climatology Office along with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Drought Response Committee has declared a severe drought condition for the Pee Dee River Basin which includes Horry, Marion, and Dillon Counties.  To ensure the City of Loris is able to adequately manage its water system during current drought conditions, it is necessary to activate our Drought Management Plan & Response Ordinance temporarily effective July 1, 2026.

 

Water conservation can ensure our service area has an adequate water supply and fire protection.  During the Drought Management Policy for severe conditions, excess charges will begin after 6,000 gallons per month of usage.  (Severe Drought Phase:  over 6,000 gal/REU = 2x Regular Rate)

 

We request our customers to reduce their daily essential usage as much as possible and eliminate all non-essential water usage to protect our service area during this time.  Any irrigation use should occur outside the hours of 6:00 am – 9:00 am.

 

During the Severe Drought Phase, the following restrictions apply:

  1. Mandatory water usage restrictions apply to the following activities (non-essential usage):
    1. Eliminate the washing down of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts and other hard-surfaced areas;
    2. Eliminate the washing down of buildings for purposes other than immediate fire protection;
    3. Eliminate the flushing of gutters;
    4. Eliminate domestic washing of cars, boats, other motorized vehicles, etc.;
    5. Eliminate the use of water to maintain fountains, reflection ponds and decorative water bodies for aesthetic or scenic purposes, except where necessary to support aquatic life;
    6. Eliminate the filling or maintaining swimming pools; and
    7. Eliminate obtaining water from fire hydrants for construction purposes, fire drills or any purpose other than fire-fighting or flushing necessary to maintain water quality.

 

***If any city water customer fails to comply with the mandatory water use restrictions, the customer will be given a written notice of such failure to comply, and surcharges are as follows:

  1. 1st violation – $25.00 surcharge shall be added to Customer's water bill;
  2. 2nd violation – additional $50.00 surcharge shall be added to Customer's water bill;
  3. 3rd violation – Customer's water service shall be terminated and restored only after payment of a surcharge of $100.00 in addition to all previously assessed surcharges

 

Additionally, we strongly encourage all water customers to take measures to conserve water usage as much as possible in an effort to avoid a State-issued mandatory water restriction.  Here are ways this can be accomplished:

  1. Limit use of water by commercial and individual customers including, but not limited to, the following:
    1. Stop serving water in addition to another beverage routinely in restaurants;
    2. Stop maintaining water levels in scenic and recreational ponds and lakes, except for the minimum amount required to support aquatic life;
    3. Limit irrigating golf courses and any portion of its grounds;
    4. Cease water service to customers who have been given a 10-day notice to repair one or more leaks and have failed to do so; and
    5. Limit expanding commercial nursery facilities, placing new irrigated agricultural land in production or planting or landscaping when required by site design review process.

 

Please use the links below for more information and tips:

WaterTips_SCDrought