Working for Wise NC Water Policy
Even with the significant rainfall the region has been recently blessed with, the statewide drought continues. Predictions for relief remain grim as NOAA forecasts the drought in North Carolina will persist into the summer, thereby leaving residents short on water supply for a forecasted dry 2008.
The latest information from the state’s drought management advisory council shows the majority of the Tar River basin remains in drought conditions. Thankfully, river and reservoir levels have rebounded, but groundwater remains low as we head into the warmer months.
In late March, the Governor released a package of proposed water conservation measures for the legislature to consider this summer. For the most part, these policies would represent a significant step forward in water management in North Carolina. It will take strong public support to convince legislators to act on some of the ideas.
The basic water challenge North Carolina faces hasn’t changed, but the politics of water are evolving rapidly, so we’ve wanted to share this update to help explain what comes next.
Recent rains ease surface water shortages, but groundwater levels are still low.
While we’re still very much in a drought if you look at rainfall over the last year, above average rain in February has reduced ‘exceptional’ drought conditions to abnornall dry across North Carolina’s Piedmont, and significantly shrunk the portions of the Mountains and Coastal Plain in ‘severe’ drought.
On the other hand, groundwater levels remain low. Since groundwater provides the base flow for rivers during the drier months, low groundwater levels mean that flows on free-flowing rivers could still drop substantially this summer. Moreover, as the weather warms up and deciduous plants start putting out leaves and growing again, they’ll be pulling water out of the ground, rapidly lowering groundwater levels.
The NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) classifies communities in North Carolina based on their vulnerability to drought; the most recent list keeps 14 communities on the ‘Tier 1’ list of communities most at risk. So, for much of the state, water conservation is still a good idea.
Governor proposes a bunch of good ideas.
On March 11, Governor Easley unveiled a package of water conservation proposals at a press conference in Raleigh. The Governor didn’t provide a lot of specifics; those will presumably be worked out over the next several weeks. But he did say he intends to offer the package when the state legislature returns for its summer 2008 session.
The full press release describing the Governor’s proposed water legislation is available on his website, but highlights include:
- Requirements for water audits, leak detection and repair, and conservation pricing as a condition of state funding for local water projects. (That’s a great step, but only about 30% of the money spent on water infrastructure in North Carolina comes from the state; the larger cities tend to raise funds on the private market, which doesn’t include these requirements);
- Prohibition of water rate structures that charge users less per gallon when they use more water (known as ‘declining block rates’, these used to be common, as a way of attracting water-intensive manufacturing industries);
- Requirements that new commercial and residential construction, and yard irrigation systems, meet water efficiency standards;
- Changes to state health codes to allow people to use ‘gray water’ from sinks and tubs to water yard plants;
- Strengthening the authority of the Governor and local water systems to require stronger conservation measures earlier in a drought; and
- State funding for local systems to detect leaks, upgrade water meters, build water reuse systems, and build more interconnections between water systems. Most of these are helpful, though we have serious concerns about some interconnections. Tying systems together provides short-term flexibility, but doesn’t address the long-term challenge of balancing supply and demand – and, in fact, can place more people at risk when a shortage does occur. Worse, interconnections across watershed boundaries can evolve into damaging interbasin transfers that deprive the source basins of essential flows while feeding unsustainable growth in the receiving basins. We don’t want state spending to promote that.
While the Governor’s package includes some great ideas, it doesn’t require local governments to link growth decisions to water availability, and doesn’t mention the long-term need for a comprehensive water law. It will be up to citizen advocates to keep those ideas on the table as legislators prepare for the 2008 summer session and the long session of 2009.
The Governor also announced the launch of an educational website, savewaternc.org. One neat feature of the site is a water calculator that lets you estimate how much water you’re likely to use at home given your habits. Between that and a recent water bill, you can probably find out which measures are doing the most to save water and reduce your costs.
Wise management of our water resources remains a priority. Take Action!