Small businesses brace for water restrictions

Good morning! Today is Monday, April 27, 2026. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

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by Mika Travis

Water-reliant small businesses are preparing to take a hit from the ongoing drought, as Charlotte Water says mandatory water restrictions could be enforced as early as Friday.

North Carolina has had below-average rainfall since last September, and conditions have only worsened over the past month as reservoir storage levels have been depleted. It’s the most severe drought the state has experienced since 2007-2008, which lasted longer than a year and left Charlotte with a nearly 15-inch rainfall deficit. Duke Energy officials said it’s the driest six-month stretch since 1971, according to WBTV. As of Thursday, Charlotte was 7.63 inches below normal rainfall for the year.

Although the Charlotte area saw some rain over the weekend and is expected to get more this week, the showers are not “drought-busting rains by any effect,” said Corey Davis, an assistant state climatologist at the North Carolina State Climate Office and the office’s leading drought expert.

“One challenge that we often see when we’ve been as dry for as long as we have this spring is that the first rain event or two don’t make a lot of impact,” David said, because the dry ground is hardened, which causes rain to run off.

Charlotte Water said it is closely monitoring conditions, including lake, river and stream levels, as well as the U.S. Drought Monitor. It assesses these data points on the 1st and the 16th of every month, and the monitor currently shows most of Mecklenburg County in an “extreme drought,” the second-most severe ranking.

Last week, Charlotte began voluntary water restrictions that ask customers to limit outdoor watering to two days a week, and no more than 1 inch per week, including rainfall. Charlotte Water also asks customers to avoid washing hard surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks and streets — a service typically provided by pressure-washing companies.

“Drought affects more businesses and sectors than a lot of folks realize,” Davis said.

While drought impacts on the agricultural industry are more obvious, other industries, such as landscaping, car washes, recreation and even paper mills, also struggle during droughts. “Think about all the other parts of our lives that water touches,” Davis said.

The landscaping industry has already been hit by the drought, said Lannden Zanders, the owner of Veteran Lawn Service’s Charlotte location. His company had to skip mowing several lawns last week because the heat had dried them out too badly to cut without damaging the lawn.

While some of his clients are on monthly contracts, others are charged per visit, and Zanders said that the skips could make a dent in the company’s revenue if dry conditions continue.

“It’s a curveball for us this year,” Zanders said. “I’ve been doing this for going on four years now, and, especially early in the spring, I have not experienced the heat we’ve had and the amount of rain that we haven’t had.”

So far, we haven’t seen the same level of impact from the current drought as from the 2007-2008 drought because it’s occurring in the spring rather than the summer, when water demand is generally highest, Davis said.

During the 2007-2008 drought, 30% of workers in landscaping, nurseries and irrigation installation businesses were laid off, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The city implemented severe water restrictions that eventually banned lawn watering completely. At the time, about 600 people in the landscaping industry asked the Charlotte City Council for relief, citing a 40% drop in revenue. 

While landscapers are the first to see the impact of the current drought, other small businesses, like pressure washers specializing in concrete cleaning, are preparing for losses if mandatory restrictions are imposed.

“Anybody who uses water on a day-to-day basis will be impacted if it goes into more mandatory restrictions,” said Jason Tavarez, owner of Spartan Exterior Cleaning, a pressure washing company in Cornelius. He added that the drought could especially hurt blue-collar workers and businesses that depend on blue-collar customers.

Also during the 2007-2008 drought, North Carolina restaurants were asked to switch to disposable plates to avoid dishwashing, and many restaurants only served water to patrons by request, Davis said. Car washes had to switch to a smaller nozzle to meet water-use restrictions, he said, and many customers avoided car washes altogether to help conserve water. 

The next stage of restrictions for the current drought may not affect people’s daily lives to this degree, but it is a possibility if the drought persists, Davis said. In an emailed statement to The Ledger last week, Charlotte Water said that mandatory restrictions could go into effect as soon as Friday.

In 2008, a Charlotte boat dealership’s sales plummeted as the drought significantly lowered water levels in recreational lakes, such as Lake Norman, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

While plant nurseries suffered during the last significant drought, they have not yet seen any losses, according to Banner Nursery on Monroe Road in Charlotte. “When you don’t have enough moisture for plants to grow, it’s tough to want to put new flowers and bushes in your backyard,” Davis said. The nursery said its plants require significantly more water than usual this season due to dry conditions.

In preparation for potential mandatory water restrictions, Tavarez said that Spartan Exterior Cleaning is focused on tightly managing finances and serving clients quickly before rules change. Veteran Lawn Services hopes to make up for losses through its other services, Zanders said, such as weed and fertilizer treatment.

While the drought could have wide-reaching impacts across industries, Davis said the good news is that these impacts tend to be temporary. “Most of these businesses that were affected in 2007 were pretty much able to go back to normal operations by the next year, once some rain arrived.”

Charlotte is expected to get some rain showers this week, but Davis told WFAE that it will take several months to reverse the drought. The best chance of relief is consistent rainfall, which could come from either a weather pattern change or the arrival of tropical systems this summer.

“Pray for rain,” Tavarez said.

Mika Travis is a freelance journalist currently based in Charlotte. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2024 and is pursuing an M.S. in journalism at Columbia University this fall. You can reach her at: [email protected].

Today’s supporting sponsor is Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews:

The new owner of an entire uptown block along South Tryon Street says it’s a prime location for a four-star boutique hotel, a refreshed public plaza and turning old Wells Fargo office space into housing.

In an interview Friday with The Ledger’s Ashley Fahey, Anthony Scacco of Riverside Investment & Development said the 3.4-acre Two Wells Fargo Center block that his company and Singerman Real Estate bought last week is a “very obvious opportunity to deliver a mix of uses in a live-work-play, 18-hour environment.”

The block contains:

The block also contains the old Wells Fargo Atrium — which is an entrance to the Overstreet Mall — as well as longtime restaurants such as Mimosa Grill and Johnny Burrito. There’s also a plaza out front that has frankly seen better days. A rendering of it shows additional seating and more green space.

Riverside is getting things done at the nearby Queensbridge Collective project a few blocks away in South End. It’s the lead developer of a completed 42-story residential tower called The Vivian and has started construction of a 43-story office/residential tower next door.

➡️ You can read more about plans for the site in an article The Ledger published online on Friday.

Related Ledger article:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are investigating a late-night heist at Myers Park High School last week, in which a man in a golf cart made off with $6,000 of track equipment.

The school’s principal, Robert Folk, sent a message to parents that said that on the evening of April 20, “a male adult in a blue golf cart drove onto campus beside our tennis courts and took over $6,000 worth of new equipment for our track and field.”

He also sent snapshots of video surveillance, marked at 10:51 p.m., and asked for help to “identify the male adult or golf cart”:

A police report obtained by The Ledger lists the stolen items as “6 boxes of metal bleachers” ($5,863) and “metal shot put ring” ($400). 

A police spokesman said Friday that police are investigating and have made no arrests. —Tony Mecia

McClatchy, the California-based parent company of The Charlotte Observer, has posted a job on its website and on LinkedIn saying it is seeking to hire someone for the role of “Charlotte Editor” — “an audience-obsessed leader who can dramatically accelerate the newsroom’s transformation.”

The job posting comes just days after the news last week that The Observer’s two top editors are departing the publication in a McClatchy-engineered leadership shake-up.

The paper’s executive editor and managing editor are leaving, and from the job description, it appears McClatchy is seeking one person who can perform both roles: “This role requires a leader who thinks strategically like an executive editor and directs day-to-day operations like a managing editor. They must set and enforce clear performance expectations, hire and coach the staff and hold every team member accountable for results.”

It says the “market lead” would be evaluated on readership growth, “volume, quality and timeliness” of its journalism, “newsroom performance on breaking news” and developing “a high-performing staff that understands and meets expectations,” among other measures.

It also lists more than a dozen desired skills, including “enthusiasm for AI and emerging technologies.” The company has been pushing its newsrooms, including Charlotte, to use artificial intelligence tools to produce some articles. Labor unions in some markets have objected to the practice.

A McClatchy spokeswoman and the company’s Raleigh editor have not replied to The Ledger’s requests for information about the Charlotte leadership changes.

The job requires a bachelor’s degree and “significant newsroom leadership experience.” It does not list a salary. There’s no application deadline listed, so if you want in, you might want to hurry to submit that cover letter and resume. —Tony Mecia

➡️ View the job listing to lead The Charlotte Observer:

Related Ledger article:

From Saturday’s front-page article in the Wall Street Journal, “A Mayor With No Pants Has Become the Talk of This North Carolina Town”:

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

TUESDAY: “Getting Ready for College Admissions Webinar,” 12-1 p.m., Virtual Zoom Webinar. Join The Charlotte Ledger for an expert-led webinar designed to give families clear, practical guidance on what matters most in today’s college admissions landscape. Two experienced college application consultants will share the key steps students should be taking now—from building meaningful activities to shaping a strong application story. Free.

WEDNESDAY: “Fun at Topgolf,” 5-7:30 p.m., at Topgolf, 8024 Savoy Corporate Dr. Join the Eastern European Business Network of Charlotte for an evening at Topgolf — a relaxed atmosphere, tee shot practice and great conversations where connections turn into real opportunities. With golf season in full bloom, it’s the perfect opportunity to sharpen your skills while building stronger relationships. $35 for members. $55 for nonmembers.

MAY 18: “A Conversation with Chef Sam Hart,” 5:30-7 p.m., at ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center, 300 E. 7th St. Join the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation for an evening at the intersection of culinary arts and library advocacy. In a moderated conversation, the city’s first Michelin-starred chef, Sam Hart, will share how storytelling shapes every course they create and why they’re donating a curated collection of culinary books to the new Main Library at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. $15/ticket.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.