Melanie Whitten's Greenhouse Business and the Impact of Drought
Melanie Whitten’s parents opened Gunter’s Greenhouse in Durham about 45 years ago. She and her husband took over in 2002. The family sells a wide variety of plants, but this year has looked different because of the ongoing drought.
According to the recent drought monitor, 14 counties are categorized as being in an extreme drought, 32 in a severe drought, and 18 in a moderate drought—that's at least 64 out of our state's 100 counties experiencing some level of drought. Municipalities are continuing to urge people to cut back on water use, with some having mandatory restrictions in place.
“We're sitting on beautiful plants that can't go anywhere. No water. They can't water. We're stuck,” Whitten said.
Stage two water restrictions have been in place in Durham since mid-June. Some of the restrictions include no spray irrigation, car washes at home, or hosing down most outdoor surfaces.
“We're currently evaluating regularly,” James Lim with the City of Durham said. “Stage three is a strong possibility if we don't get significant rain.”
Stage three would eliminate most outdoor use of water. According to the City of Durham, there’s a 78-day supply of easily accessible water left in the city’s reservoirs.
“Our reservoirs are much smaller, have a smaller watershed than reservoirs in the area,” Lim said. “So we're affected a little more by the drought. And where they are located is in north, north of us. And the drought actually is more severe up north.”
However, its total supply is 147 days when additional stored water and emergency reserves are factored in.
Whitten says even once drought conditions eventually improve, it’s going to take some time for her family business to recover.
“You have to regroup. You have to restart all over again, because it takes all the money you got,” she said. “When you have a loss like that, a lot of throwing away that you should have sold, with no water.”
But she says her faith keeps her going.
“We'll get there. It's a struggle now, but I feel like we'll eventually get there,” Whitten said. “But right now it's hard.”