Cary

The Division of Water Resources (DWR) provides the data contained within this Local Water Supply Plan (LWSP) as a courtesy and service to our customers. DWR staff does not field verify data. Neither DWR, nor any other party involved in the preparation of this LWSP attests that the data is completely free of errors and omissions. Furthermore, data users are cautioned that LWSPs labeled PROVISIONAL have yet to be reviewed by DWR staff. Subsequent review may result in significant revision. Questions regarding the accuracy or limitations of usage of this data should be directed to the water system and/or DWR.

1. System Information

Contact Information

Complete

Water System Name: Cary   PWSID: 03-92-020
Mailing Address:PO Box 8005
Cary, NC 27512-8005		Ownership:Municipality
 
Contact Person:Jamie RevelsTitle:Utilities Director
Phone:919-469-4303Cell/Mobile:--
 
Secondary Contact:Sarah Braman Phone:919-462-3846
Mailing Address:
, 		Cell/Mobile:--
Distribution System
Line Type Size Range (Inches) Estimated % of lines
Asbestos Cement 2-12 4.10 %
Ductile Iron 2-54 78.00 %
Other 2-54 1.10 %
Polyvinyl Chloride 2-30 16.80 %
What are the estimated total miles of distribution system lines?   1,178 Miles
How many feet of distribution lines were replaced during 2025?   3,346 Feet
How many feet of new water mains were added during 2025?   31,680 Feet
How many meters were replaced in 2025?   18,800
How old are the oldest meters in this system?   15 Year(s)
How many meters for outdoor water use, such as irrigation, are not billed for sewer services?   8,043
What is this system's finished water storage capacity?   19.4100 Million Gallons
Has water pressure been inadequate in any part of the system since last update? Line breaks that were repaired quickly should not be included.   No

1. This report includes the combined Town of Cary, Town of Morrisville, and Wake County/RTP South service areas.
2. The number of meters replaced includes potable.
3. The length of distribution lines includes hydrant laterals
4. The number of meters for outdoor use includes potable irrigation only, not reclaimed.
5. Finished water storage excludes WTP clear well storage capacity owned by the Town of Apex.
6. The consistency in total water main lines is due to improved water dataset quality

Programs
Does this system have a program to work or flush hydrants?   Yes, Semi-Annually
Does this system have a valve exercise program?   Yes, 2 Years or More
Does this system have a cross-connection program?   Yes
Does this system have a program to replace meters?   Yes
Does this system have a plumbing retrofit program?   No
Does this system have an active water conservation public education program?   Yes
Does this system have a leak detection program?   Yes

1. The Town of Cary has a proactive leak detection program that applies to the Cary, Morrisville and RTP South service areas.
2. The Town of Cary conducts annual Water Audits using the AWWA Water Loss Control Committee Water Audit Software v6.0

Water Conservation
What type of rate structure is used?   Increasing Block
How much reclaimed water does this system use?   0.7100 MGD   For how many connections?   988
Does this system have an interconnection with another system capable of providing water in an emergency?   Yes

1. The Town of Cary manages billing for the combined Cary, Morrisville and RTP South service areas.
2. Reclaimed water service is provided in parts of the Cary, Morrisville and RTP South service areas.
3. Reclaimed water use is based on average day reclaimed water distributed for the year.
4. Reclaimed water use does not include use at the treatment plants, only what is distributed to the system.

2. Water Use Information

Service Area
Sub-Basin(s)% of Service Population
Neuse River (10-1)67 %
Haw River (02-1)33 %
County(s)% of Service Population
Wake96 %
Chatham4 %
What was the year-round population served in 2025?   227,281
Has this system acquired another system since last report?   No

1. Population includes the combined Town of Cary and Town of Morrisville.
2. Relative populations served in each Sub-Basin and each County are based on the numbers and locations of residential water meters.

Water Use by Type
Type of Use Metered
Connections		 Metered
Average Use (MGD)		 Non-Metered
Connections		 Non-Metered
Estimated Use (MGD)
Residential 70,572 10.3000 0 0.0000
Commercial 4,076 3.7000 0 0.0000
Industrial 45 0.5000 0 0.0000
Institutional 407 0.3000 0 0.0000

How much water was used for system processes (backwash, line cleaning, flushing, etc.)?   4.2600 MGD

1. Metered Connection is a meter count including irrigation meters for billed customers (not including metered system process water)
2. Reported system process water includes only:
- System process water at the WTP attributed to the combined Town of Cary, Town of Morrisville, and Wake County/RTP South service areas.
- Water used in flushing the distribution system at fixed, metered locations.
- Estimated Flushing from our Work Order Management System
- Bulk Potable Use included in Commercial use

Water Sales
Purchaser PWSID Average
Daily Sold
(MGD)		 Days
Used		 Contract Required to
comply with water
use restrictions?		 Pipe Size(s)
(Inches)		 Use
Type
MGD Expiration Recurring
City of Durham 03-32-010 0.1333 1 0.0000 2028 Yes Yes 16 Emergency
City of Raleigh 03-92-010 0.0000 0 0.0000 2032 Yes No 24 Emergency
Orange Water and Sewer Authority 03-68-010 0.0000 0 0.0000 2029 Yes Yes 0 Emergency
RDU 00-00-000 0.2770 365 0.4000 2033 Yes No 16 Regular
Town of Holly Springs 03-92-050 0.0000 0 0.0000 2045 Yes Yes 16 Emergency

1. Contracts with Durham, OWASA, Holly Springs, and Raleigh are mutual aid agreements. Water volumes transferred will depend upon system capacities at the time.
2. Sales to OWASA are conveyed through City of Durham.
3. Average daily sales amount is based on finished water metered at the interconnection.

Cary confirms 0.1333 MGD in one day of sales to Durham.

3. Water Supply Sources

Monthly Withdrawals & Purchases
Average Daily
Use (MGD)		 Max Day
Use (MGD)		 Average Daily
Use (MGD)		 Max Day
Use (MGD)		 Average Daily
Use (MGD)		 Max Day
Use (MGD)
Jan 18.3000 20.8300 May 21.2100 24.2600 Sep 24.1900 26.4000
Feb 17.9900 19.5200 Jun 22.4200 26.5200 Oct 22.7500 25.7200
Mar 19.2000 21.0100 Jul 23.6800 29.6800 Nov 19.8800 22.5100
Apr 20.1200 23.5100 Aug 22.6800 26.7500 Dec 18.0500 25.0700

1. Water withdrawals include the combined Town of Cary, Town of Morrisville, and Wake County/RTP South service areas.
2. These values include withdrawals for water sales.

Surface Water Sources
Stream Reservoir Average Daily Withdrawal Maximum Day
Withdrawal (MGD)		 Available Raw
Water Supply		 Usable On-Stream
Raw Water Supply
Storage (MG)
MGD Days Used MGD * Qualifier
Haw River B. Everett Jordan Lake 20.8900 365 29.6800 35.6000 SY50 5,313.0000

* Qualifier: C=Contract Amount, SY20=20-year Safe Yield, SY50=50-year Safe Yield, F=20% of 7Q10 or other instream flow requirement, CUA=Capacity Use Area Permit

Surface Water Sources (continued)
Stream Reservoir Drainage Area
(sq mi)		 Metered? Sub-Basin County Year
Offline		 Use
Type
Haw River B. Everett Jordan Lake 1,690 Yes Haw River (02-1) Chatham Regular
What is this system's off-stream raw water supply storage capacity?   0 Million gallons
Are surface water sources monitored?   Yes, Weekly
Are you required to maintain minimum flows downstream of its intake or dam?   Yes
Does this system anticipate transferring surface water between river basins?   Yes

1. The raw withdrawal represents withdrawal for the Cary Service Area (including Morrisville, RDU, RTP-South), not Apex.
2. Water is drawn from the Haw, but a portion of the system use occurs in the Neuse Basin.
3. Note that the annual withdrawal includes volume transferred to municipalities that have their own available allocations.

Water Purchases From Other Systems
Seller PWSID Average
Daily Purchased
(MGD)		 Days
Used		 Contract Required to
comply with water
use restrictions?		 Pipe Size(s)
(Inches)		 Use
Type
MGD Expiration Recurring
City of Durham 03-32-010 0.0000 0 0.0000 2028 Yes Yes 16 Emergency
City of Raleigh 03-92-010 0.0000 0 0.0000 2032 Yes No 24 Emergency
Orange Water and Sewer Authority 03-68-010 0.0000 0 0.0000 2029 Yes Yes 0 Emergency
Town of Holly Springs 03-92-050 0.0000 0 0.0000 2045 No No 16 Emergency

1. Contracts with City of Durham, OWASA, Holly Springs, and Raleigh are mutual aid agreements. Water volumes transferred will depend upon system capacities and needs at the time.
2. Purchases from OWASA are conveyed through City of Durham.
3. Average daily purchased amount is based on finished water metered at the interconnection.

Water Treatment Plants
Plant Name Permitted Capacity
(MGD)		 Is Raw Water Metered? Is Finished Water Ouput Metered? Source
Cary-Apex 56.0000 Yes Yes B. Everett Jordan Lake
Did average daily water production exceed 80% of approved plant capacity for five consecutive days during 2025?  No
     If yes, was any water conservation implemented?  
Did average daily water production exceed 90% of approved plant capacity for five consecutive days during 2025?  No
     If yes, was any water conservation implemented?  
Are peak day demands expected to exceed the water treatment plant capacity in the next 10 years?  No

1. The Cary-Apex Water Treatment Facility is co-owned by Cary and Apex, and serves the Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and RTP South service areas.
2. The reported plant capacity is for the entire plant, and the expansion to 56 mgd was completed in 2018.

4. Wastewater Information

Monthly Discharges
Average Daily
Discharge (MGD)		 Average Daily
Discharge (MGD)		 Average Daily
Discharge (MGD)
Jan 18.4900 May 19.7200 Sep 18.1200
Feb 20.3800 Jun 19.4100 Oct 18.3900
Mar 19.7600 Jul 19.7200 Nov 18.7100
Apr 19.5300 Aug 21.6000 Dec 19.1100

How many sewer connections does this system have?   65,943
How many water service connections with septic systems does this system have?   0
Are there plans to build or expand wastewater treatment facilities in the next 10 years?   Yes

1. Wastewater information includes the combined Town of Cary, Town of Morrisville, and Wake County/RTP South service areas.
2. Monthly Discharge does not include reclaimed water.
3. The number of septic systems in the Towns of Cary, Morrisville, and RTP South is unknown.
4. WWRWRF effluent includes wastewater from Apex.
5. A study is currently underway evaluating an expansion of the Western Wake Regional WRF.

Wastewater Permits
Permit Number Type Permitted Capacity
(MGD)		 Design Capacity
(MGD)		 Average Annual
Daily Discharge
(MGD)		 Maximum Day Discharge
(MGD)		 Receiving Stream Receiving Basin
NC0048879 WWTP 12.0000 12.0000 6.3000 12.1000 Crabtree Creek Neuse River (10-1)
NC0065102 WWTP 16.0000 12.8000 5.7000 10.2000 Middle Creek Neuse River (10-1)
NC0088846 WWTP 18.0000 18.0000 7.4000 12.1000 Cape Fear River Cape Fear River (02-3)
Wastewater Interconnections
Water System PWSID Type Average Daily Amount Contract
Maximum (MGD)
MGD Days Used
Durham County WWTP 00-00-000 Receiving 0.0500 1 5.0000

On 11/26/25 0.05 MGD was received by Durham County. This flow is incorporated into the NCWRF reported values.

5. Planning

Projections
  2025 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070
Year-Round Population 227,281 255,553 315,845 358,645 379,636 400,627
Seasonal Population 0 0 0 0 0 0
 
Residential 10.3000 12.1500 15.2000 17.2500 18.3200 19.4000
Commercial 3.7000 3.7600 5.3000 6.3200 6.9200 7.5300
Industrial 0.5000 0.5600 0.6000 0.6300 0.6600 0.7000
Institutional 0.3000 0.4200 0.5900 0.7000 0.7700 0.8400
System Process 4.2600 5.5800 6.9800 7.5900 7.9400 7.9800
Unaccounted-for 1.5526 0.8900 1.0600 1.1300 1.1100 1.0900

Regarding the 81% projected demand-to-supply ratio in 2050, we are aware of it and do have plans to do some system looping to address some of our non-revenue flushing.  We also know that our projections represent a particular expectation of growth and anticipate another iteration of our Long Range Plan in coming years (we aim to do so every ~5 years) so we’re keeping our eye on the horizon as well.

Future Supply Sources
Source Name PWSID Source Type Additional Supply Year Online Year Offline Type
Jordan Lake Round 5 03-92-020 Surface 2.7000 2040 Regular
Process Water Recycling 03-92-002 Surface 2.5300 2030 Regular
Process Water Recycling 03-92-020 Surface 0.6500 2040 Regular
Process Water Recycling 03-92-020 Surface 0.4500 2050 Regular
Process Water Recycling 03-92-020 Surface 0.2100 2060 Regular

1.The future round of Jordan Lake water supply storage allocation requests are based on projected demands for year 2070.
2. The additional water supply storage allocation amount is consistent with the Cary Long Range Water Resources Plan (HDR, 2025) as well as the draft Regional Water Supply Plan being developed by the Triangle Water Supply Partnership (formerly the Jordan Lake Partnership).
3. Recycling of process water use at the Cary Apex WTF is included as a potentially future water supply and is approximated as 10% of the forecasted Raw Water Supply up to 5 MGD. The values provided are estimated and reflect 77% of the potential recovery based on Cary’s ownership share of CAWTF.

Demand v/s Percent of Supply
  2025 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070
Surface Water Supply 35.6000 35.6000 35.6000 35.6000 35.6000 35.6000
Ground Water Supply 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Purchases 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Future Supplies 2.5300 5.8800 6.3300 6.5400 6.5400
Total Available Supply (MGD) 35.6000 38.1300 41.4800 41.9300 42.1400 42.1400
Service Area Demand 20.6126 23.3600 29.7300 33.6200 35.7200 37.5400
Sales 0.2774 0.4000 0.4000 0.4000 0.4000 0.4000
Future Sales 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
Total Demand (MGD) 20.8900 23.7600 30.1300 34.0200 36.1200 37.9400
Demand as Percent of Supply 59% 62% 73% 81% 86% 90%

The purpose of the above chart is to show a general indication of how the long-term per capita water demand changes over time. The per capita water demand may actually be different than indicated due to seasonal populations and the accuracy of data submitted. Water systems that have calculated long-term per capita water demand based on a methodology that produces different results may submit their information in the notes field.

Your long-term water demand is 45 gallons per capita per day. What demand management practices do you plan to implement to reduce the per capita water demand (i.e. conduct regular water audits, implement a plumbing retrofit program, employ practices such as rainwater harvesting or reclaimed water)? If these practices are covered elsewhere in your plan, indicate where the practices are discussed here.    No Changes

Are there other demand management practices you will implement to reduce your future supply needs?   Cary's Long-Range Water Resources Plan (HDR, 2025) includes an evaluation of Cary's water conservation approaches.

What supplies other than the ones listed in future supplies are being considered to meet your future supply needs?   Cary's Long-Range Water Resources Plan (HDR, 2025) includes an evaluation of water supply alternatives.

How does the water system intend to implement the demand management and supply planning components above?   1. The Town of Cary has a mature water conservation program that applies to the combined Cary, Morrisville and RTP South service areas and has been operating since 1996.
2. The program has firmly established a culture of conservation and valuing water resources within the communities.

Additional Information

Has this system participated in regional water supply or water use planning?  Yes, Yes, The Town of Cary, Town of Morrisville, and Wake County/RTP South are active members of the Triangle Water Supply Partnership. The Partners are committed to working collaboratively to enhance the sustainability and security of the region's water supply resources through conservation and efficiency, interconnection, and coordinated planning and development of this critical resource. The TWP is currently working on a Regional Water Supply Plan, with completion expected later in 2026.

What major water supply reports or studies were used for planning?  Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), 2014. Triangle Regional Water Supply Plan: Volume II – Regional Water Supply Alternatives Analysis.
CH2M Hill and Brown and Caldwell, January 2013. Long Range Water Resources Plan. Prepared for Towns of Cary, Apex and Morrisville and Wake County.
Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), 2012. Triangle Regional Water Supply Plan: Volume I – Regional Needs Assessment.
CH2M Hill, 2010. Town of Cary Water Use Analysis TM. Prepared for Town of Cary, North Carolina.
CH2M Hill, 2009. Town of Cary Water Distribution System Master Plan. Prepared for Town of Cary, North Carolina.
Jacobs Engineering, 2018. Long Range Water Resource Plan Update. Prepared for Towns of Cary, Apex and Morrisville and Wake County.
Central Pines Regional Council (CPRC), 2024. Triangle Regional Water Supply Plan - Phase 1 - Regional assessment
HDR, 2024. Cary Long Range Water Resources Plan: Water Demand and Wastewater Flow Forecast TM
HDR, 2025. Cary Long Range Water Resources Plan. Prepared for Towns of Cary, Apex and Morrisville and Wake County.

Please describe any other needs or issues regarding your water supply sources, any water system deficiencies or needed improvements (storage, treatment, etc.) or your ability to meet present and future water needs. Include both quantity and quality considerations, as well as financial, technical, managerial, permitting, and compliance issues:   

The Division of Water Resources (DWR) provides the data contained within this Local Water Supply Plan (LWSP) as a courtesy and service to our customers. DWR staff does not field verify data. Neither DWR, nor any other party involved in the preparation of this LWSP attests that the data is completely free of errors and omissions. Furthermore, data users are cautioned that LWSPs labeled PROVISIONAL have yet to be reviewed by DWR staff. Subsequent review may result in significant revision. Questions regarding the accuracy or limitations of usage of this data should be directed to the water system and/or DWR.