The board passed a resolution Tuesday night encouraging everyone not under water restrictions or using private wells to voluntarily save water.

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority, which serves Chapel Hill and Carrboro, last week declared a Stage 2 water shortage, citing reservoirs at just over half capacity.

Commissioner Barry Jacobs commended OWASA's action, and asked county staff to ensure there were signs in hotels and motels asking guests to conserve as much water as possible.

Jacobs added there was a "glaring lack of recognition" of natural resource limits in planning for growth, and called for "an interconnection not just in pipes, but in thinking" among entities responsible for guiding development.

Tuesday's action apparently was the first county request for well owners to conserve water. Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil said that as far as he knew, no governments had authority over water consumption by well owners, barring the declaration of some type of public health emergency.

The county has an information session scheduled for Thursday for well users on dealing with the drought. Stancil said a hydrogeologist from the state Division of Water Quality will be on hand to help answer questions about Orange County geology, and a horticulturist will discuss landscaping.

Stancil said he hadn't heard of any wells going dry, but had "inklings" that may happen in the future if conditions don't improve.

But Stancil added that farmers' ponds in Orange County were going dry, ponds they rely on to water fields and nourish livestock.

He said the county was issuing an increased number of well permits for farmers.

Homeowners, however, have not been applying for new wells in large numbers, Stancil said, even though "the level of inquiries that we're getting is going up pretty dramatically."

Karen McAdams, an extension agent for Orange County, told the board that conditions on farms were very difficult.

"There's an old saying that adversity builds character. Well, I think the farmers in Orange County are overflowing with character this year," McAdams said.

She added she had heard of four small farms that had sold their entire herds.

"We will have some small farmers go out of business," she said. Most hay in North Carolina is gone, she said, and farmers are forced to truck in hay from out of the state at high cost.

"I wish we could do a rain dance or something that would help," board Chairman Moses Carey Jr. said.

McAdams said in some cases it may be too late.

"The effects of the drought will be going on for a long time, even if it started raining now," she said.

McAdams suggested the board contact North Carolina congressional representatives to obtain federal assistance for farmers, and the board asked the extension staff to draft a letter for them.

Jacobs also suggested that the county's small business loan program might be able to help some farmers stay in business.