Submitted by Melanie Jerman :  With the lack of rain in our area this summer, Triangle residents are having to deal with severe water restrictions limiting them to one day of outdoor watering a week.  As a result, a lot of area neighborhoods are looking a lot less green.

Of course, not everyone is following the guidelines.  An evening stroll will reveal a random green yards sitting next to one clearly suffering from the drought conditions with dry, brown patches scattered through the lawn.  And if you don't mind getting up with the birds, you can see the water runoff in the streets from the forbidden sprinklers programmed to run in the wee hours of the morning.

Not even the threat of fines sway those seeking the perfect green lawn. A fact which has more than a few concerned citizens up in arms. With an obvious shortage of our area drinking water, it seems more than a little selfish to ignore the concerns in order to keep up with your neighbor's lush new turf.

Perhaps a family outing to Falls Lake is in order.  Seeing is believing.