water conservation
[At the March 1, 2011,
meeting of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, in response to a request from
the OWASA Board of Directors to facilitate greater access to water from
Jordan Lake, Mayor Mark Chilton made the following remarks. The Editors of OP asked if we could publish his comments here as a blog post, and he agreed. -Ed.]
What the evidence that was just laid out before you clearly shows is that our community is capable of living with the water supply we have now, that the water supply now is very substantial, is scheduled to grow significantly in 2035, and that water conservation efforts have proved to be more effective than—I think they've really proved to be more effective than anybody would have guessed 10 years ago, than the most wild-eyed optimists would have believed 10 years ago. We've been more successful than that. We have not even exhausted the water conservation and water efficiency technologies and policies and procedures that even possibly could be implemented within our community.
Despite serious misgivings among some local officials, OWASA is moving forward on discussions with the City of Durham, Chatham County, Orange County, and other neighboring jurisdictions to secure future access to Jordan Lake water.
There is a lot of pressure from Chatham County because they over-built beyond their capacity to provide water during the high growth heyday of the Bunky Morgan era. OWASA is a valuable ally to these other jurisdictions because it owns a prime piece of land on the west shore of Jordan Lake that is ideal for a water intake.
OWASA, Durham, & Chatham County have agreed to jointly explore the possibility of installing a water intake on the west shore of Jordan Lake where OWASA owns property. Our local Orange County governments have some misgivings about the project and these were discussed at the Orange County Assembly of Governments meeting last night, which was also attended by Durham Mayor Bill Bell and Chatham County Commission Chair George Lucier. The following is a statement that I prepared for presentation at that meeting. (I actually ended up talking off the cuff to avoid repeating points that others had previously made.)
I am all for lending my fellow brother a helping hand, but not if my brother expects the handout without making the necessary changes needed to prevent further bailouts. For months, citizens of Chapel Hill/Carrboro have bit the bullet and took necessary action to conserve water during the drought. As we watched our gardens wilt and our vehicles dust over, our Durham neighbors still washed their cars and hand-watered their lawns. We silently noted the limited supply of our Farmer's Markets while still supporting our struggling farmers, and while we grew impatient with the restrictions, we gain perspective every time we passed a sign in town reminding us to conserve. Perhaps the rumors are true, and Carrboro/Chapel Hill is the hippie,green cousin of our Durham city, and therefore able to embrace green incentives easier, but as they laughed at our progressiveness, Durham held out a bucket and asked for us to fill it up. Our supply is still barely half full, and OWASA is upholding Stage 3 restrictions, but my patience is wearing thin for my Durham neighbors when I see a gas station car wash being used in Durham that is not using recycled water!
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