I am surprised as well with the increase in water consumption. With the decrease in Rain, why isn't cloud seeding being used any more.. I don't want to encourage acid rain, but there has got to be something safe now that can be used to seed clouds to help out with the shortage of rain. what's every one else's thoughts on this?

That's a thoughtful question. My understanding has been that seeding clouds is a hit or miss strategy, and so hasn't received much attention. Wikipedia has a page of useful information on cloud seeding:

The American Meteorological Society has a position statement on cloud seeding (http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/wxmod98.html) that includes this advice: "Precipitation augmentation through cloud seeding should not be viewed as a drought relief measure. Opportunities to increase precipitation are usually few, if any, during droughts; consequently, the cost of mounting a cloud-seeding operation will far exceed the benefits that may be obtained. A program of precipitation augmentation is more effective in cushioning the impact of drought if it is used as part of a water management strategy on a year-round basis whenever opportunities exist to build soil moisture, to improve cropland, and to increase water in storage."

There's also the question, if our actions remove water from the atmosphere by causing it to fall as rain, where is it not falling later. I haven't seen much discussion of this, but it's the same issue raised by withdrawals from a river - what happens to flows downstream. The regulated riparian model water code - a sample piece of legislative published by the American Society of Civil Engineers to serve as a guide for eastern states - includes a special section on atmospheric water management, advising that states should issue permits for cloud seeding (to the extent that seeding is allowed) in the same manner as permits for withdrawing water from rivers or groundwater aquifers.

Oops. The Wikipedia page is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

Is the increasing water use due to people using more water, or due to more subdivisions being built and more people moving in? Not that either one bodes well...

I'm not sure why Raleigh's use has gone up - my guess is that it's a per capita increase (That is, not just the result of increased population) - but whether that is because individual use has increased, or because certain commercial or industrial users that had cut back during the fall have increased, or both, I don't know. Without a good computer system for segmenting water users, a water system can't tell either, and can't charge differential rates for various uses. It's a problem that affects a lot of water systems across North Carolina.

I am not really surprised at the increase in water consumption. When it was warmer and dryer people were more aware of the drought. But with the recent rains and cloudy skies people forget that the rain fall is still less than the normal rainfall that we should expect. The drought continues, as does the need to conserve water.

The water use in Raleigh is increasing because the city is expanding at a breakneck pace. You can't keep adding greenfield housing developments, apartment complexes, and business parks and not expect water usage to increase. The city only sees tax dollars.

Can you impeach the whole city council?

One action that I wish was promoted more during this water crisis is the use of greywater. It is very simple to collect water from your shower (even if it's just while you're running the tap til it gets hot) and flush your toilet with it. You just need a bucket. Or, simply decrease how often you flush. Toilets account for over 20% of household water use--and we practice the bizarre custom of flushing our waste with clean drinking water!