Carthaginians who waste water during this summer’s expected dry spell may have their water turned off.

In hopes of avoiding such drastic measures, Carthage is planning ahead for the expected shortage this spring and summer.

Town workers and a number of water customers attended a special workshop on water conservation Wednesday morning, at which a water conservation specialist from Cary and a representative of the Carolina Irrigation Association explained useful techniques.

There were representatives from Moore County Schools, a rest home, and the county itself. Three or four residents attended in response to a letter sent to all customers from the water plant and Carthage public works.

Water plant director Alan Oldham said more letters would go out after the workshop.

“This will help us get to get through another hot summer with our old treatment plant,” said Sammy Taylor, public works supervisor. A new, state-of-the-art water treatment plant is under construction, but is not expected to be online before next year.

“Even with our new plant being built, we still need to be good stewards and conserve,” Taylor said. “If we see water running down sidewalks and roads this summer, or unreasonably high water usage through your meter, we will be contacting you and possibly turning your water off.”

The critical time is almost here. Lower amounts of rain and snow this winter mean springs and other sources will run low.

“We’ll have to start our cutbacks in April,” said Taylor. “The idea of this workshop is to get a head start on what we hope will be our last difficult summer.”

David Williams is with the Carolina Irrigation Association. Laura Carathanasis works for the town of Cary as a conservation specialist. She said more water is wasted irrigating lawns and shrubbery.

“Most of this water ends up in the sewer or storm drains,” she told the group. Evaporation, she said, is another way irrigation water is lost. Carathanasis demonstrated a number of techniques designed to make the most of the water used, giving plants enough water without using more than they really need.

“It doesn’t take as much water as people think to keep your lawns and plants in good shape,” she said. “It is important not to overwater in order for plants to develop deep roots. Water too much and your roots come to the surface, and then on hot days, they die.”

Williams spoke from the irrigators’ standpoint. He stressed communication and cooperation between towns and users.

“It is important to work together,” he said. “While we want the town of Carthage to look nice, we still need to be sure we have enough water to meet needs for domestic consumption and fire protection.”

Irrigation of lawns and shrubbery is not essential to life, and low water reduces the town’s ability to provide essential fire protection. Carthage is not banning irrigation, at least as yet; but it wants people to be aware of measures they can take to get the most out of the water they use.

One way, they were told, is to cut back on watering time. Simply changing a timer to two shorter periods with a break in between gives plants enough water, while reducing the total amount used. Another way is to set timers to water at night, when far less will be lost to evaporation.