You may be feeling waterlogged after several days of heavy, gusty rainfall -- almost four inches already this month, four times normal for the first couple of weeks of December.

And maybe all the rain and overcast days are aggravating any seasonal affective disorder to which you may be prone, what with the sun setting just about the time happy hour begins.

But there is a distinct bright side: Finally, the last traces of drought have been erased across the state.

Our region had passed that landmark some time ago, but this week state climatologists declared the very last counties had been lifted from even the relatively mild "abnormally dry" stage. Those conditions were a far cry from the serious drought that plagued the Triangle area and much of the state the past couple of years.

We're still below normal rainfall for the year, but only a bit. And we've been closing the gap ferociously in recent weeks. The deluge so far this month is on the heels of the state's fifth-wettest November on record. Last month, nearly seven inches of rain was recorded at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, more than double the month's normal rainfall.

The severe drought and increasingly stringent water-use restrictions of the summer and fall of 2007 are a fading memory. We don't miss the grim daily reassessment of the dwindling supply of water in our reservoirs, which today in Durham hold a year's supply of water.

But officials are quick to remind us, correctly, that we shouldn't forsake all of our conservation practices. "Wise water use will continue to be an essential, cost-effective strategy for ensuring that our supplies are adequate in the future," Ed Holland, planning director of OWASA, warned in discussing the full reservoirs serving the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

What the recent drought brought into sharp relief is that water is after all a finite resource. The region's robust growth in the past three decades has threatened to outpace our ability to ensure an adequate supply of water, especially when we encounter the prolonged dry spells which historically have marked this area from time to time.

And the question is not just one of supply. Using water judiciously, landscaping with our climate in mind and avoiding wasteful water usage all help to postpone expensive expansion of water-treatment facilities.

So, enjoy our more relaxed water-supply picture, but remember the Durham Water Management Department's advice: There are many ways to save water, and they start with each of us.