The Birmingham Water Works board has relaxed the Birmingham metropolitan area’s drought status to Stage 1, meaning that water restrictions will now be voluntary and fines will not be levied on those that choose not to participate. The utility made the announcement via a press release earlier today that was published by Fox 6 on their website. As of the time of this posting, the release had not been made available on the Water Works’ website.

The announcement comes nearly a week after the utility announced changes to their drought management plan. The changes were the result of suggestions made during the drought summit as well as others made by customers. The long term threat is still not over as the U.S. Drought Monitor still lists the utility’s service area as one in extreme conditions.