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Troubled Waters: The Illusion of Abundance
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Sandra Postel, Director,
Global Water Policy Project, Amherst, MA
Our water is renewable, but it’s finite, which means that as populations
grow and as economies grow, we start to run into limits as to how much more
we can take. And many parts of the world now are at that limit where their demands
are simply at or beyond the available supply of water.
Paul Simon, Former Illinois
State Senator, Professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
The United Nations says 14 thousand people die a day because of poor quality
water, ninety-five hundred of them are children. At Columbine High School, we
had a tragedy that stunned everyone in the United States, probably in other
countries too, but everyday 630 times that many children die needlessly because
of poor quality water. Deaths that we could prevent and we hardly pay attention
to it.
Colonel Ray Alexander,
District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
If I may, I’d like to quote our Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General
Bob Flowers who has stated, ‘What oil was to the 20th century, water will
be for this century.’
Mike Easley, Governor of
the State of North Carolina
…and if we don’t work together as one we’re going to see not
only an ugly fight, but a very, very big failure in our ability to meet our
responsibilities to see that the water is provided to our citizens.
Jennifer E. Miller, Artist,
Hillsborough Artist Cooperative, Hillsboro, NC
That is sort of our future, I think, is to, despite whatever happens politically,
wars and disease, if we have one common goal as people on a planet. We can be
the champions or we can just be the, the people who ruin it. I think it’s
important to save it.
I. Troubled Waters: The Illusion of Abundance
Dr. James R. Leutze, Chancellor
Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
This is a story about water: the role it plays in our lives and the crisis we’re
in. It’s a quiet crisis, slowly creeping across continents, including
our own. We take water for granted. We never give it a second thought unless
there’s a drought. Only then do we realize how crucial water is in our
lives. But when the rains return, and the lakes, rivers and streams fill up
again, we go back to taking water for granted. As strange as it may seem, the
welcome rains are unwelcome when they provide us a false sense of security.
We went from a blistering drought in the summer of 2002 to relentless rains
in the summer of 2003. From a time when crops failed for a lack of rain, to
a summer where dams broke, bridges severed and homes flooded. Yet despite these
extremes in the weather, despite the appearance of abundance the crisis over
water scarcity is real.
--And unless we act soon, the struggle for water will become a part of daily
life for us, as it is for so many other people in the world.
Dr. Leutze
Oceans cover two-thirds of the planet’s surface and account for ninety-seven
percent of its water, unfortunately it’s salt water--unfit for human use.
Approximately two percent of the available water is locked in polar ice sheets
and glaciers. That means that life must be sustained with less than one percent
of the world’s water. This fraction of one percent has to meet the needs
of an exploding world population; feed the water appetite of growing economies;
and ensure that children do not have to suffer and die needlessly. Without that
small fraction of fresh water, life as we know it would no longer be possible.
We are made up mostly of water, and so are most other living things. We can
last about a month without food but less than a week without water. We use water
in and for nearly everything: industry, agriculture, human consumption and recreation.
Water plays a wonderfully ordinary role in our lives. Yet it has also played
a key role in human history. Water was basic to exploration, making the discovery
of new worlds possible. It’s also a workhorse and a highway, moving goods,
a crucial player in international commerce. Battles have been fought on
water—and over water. We also fear water, aware of its
extraordinary power to destroy. Floods sweep away cities, as well as civilizations.
Hurricanes savage coasts. Yet we have also looked at water as way to understand
ourselves better.
Throughout the ages, water and nature have served as an inspiration for artists.
Jennifer Miller
It’s about being there, being involved, the noises, the creatures, and
the sounds of the water and the wind and the light. Seeing the light and the
shades of color that repeat through the scene. There are definitely times when
I am awe inspired. I mean an owl sitting on a branch near me just staring at
me, a hawk that just seemed to follow me around for a while and yell at me.
The beaver at night come out and swim and try to scare you off. Have you ever
seen a beaver slam the water with its tail in the moonlight and the water go
spraying up over it? But, I don’t know as a race how we can find any kind
of equilibrium with the planet if we aren’t experiencing it first hand.
Dr. Leutze
In the ancient past, we saw what we looked like in our reflection in the water.
Today the water looks back at us, troubled water, the result of our own lack
of understanding and care.
III. The Invisible World of the Hydrologic Cycle and Aquifers
Dr. Leutze
Sandra Postel is director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Dr. Leutze
You’ve written about the fact that we are entering an era of water scarcity.
What do you mean by that?
Sandra Postel
We’re entering a period of water scarcity mainly because population and
economic growth have reached the point where we’re over tapping the water
that’s available from nature.
Dr. Leutze
Overtapping is diminishing what water is available in underground places called
aquifers. Aquifers exist underground in various places around the globe. They
are the source of water for wells and in times of drought they refill dried
up streams, rivers and lakes. Aquifers are as old as the earth and take millions
of years to fill.
Taking water out of aquifers began to accelerate with the discovery of steam power and then of electricity: water could be pumped out of the ground around the clock. Then came new and even more powerful techniques, learned from oil drilling. Water can now be pumped in huge quantities from an even greater depth in the earth. Today numerous cities, industries and farms take water directly from the aquifers. What took nature millions of years to make; we are taking in a few short centuries.
IV. Causes of the Current Crisis Over Water Globally,
in the US and in NC
A. Population Growth
Dr. Leutze
Let’s examine two major causes of the current crisis over water.
One cause is the world’s population growth: the more people, the more water needed for consumption and for growing food. Agriculture alone takes nearly three quarters of that fraction of one percent of water available to the entire planet.
Sandra Postel
The problem is that in areas that are now heavily irrigated, we see all kinds
of signs that that irrigation is not sustainable. Farmers are over-pumping groundwater
in order to grow the crops that they’re trying to grow. Rivers are being
over tapped; in large part to irrigate land. If you look at the water supply
globally, seventy percent of everything we’re using is for irrigated agriculture.
So it consumes the lion’s share of the water that we’re using.”
Dr. Leutze
World population was 2.5 billion in 1950 but climbed to 4.4 billion in 1980.
Today that figure is 6.2 billion --and growing by 80 million people a year.
Experts predict an increase to 8 billion by the year 2025.
B. No Development v. Great Development
Dr. Leutze
A second cause of the crisis is that water is unevenly divided around the world.
Sandra Postel
Countries like China and India have had very rapid population growth. They both
have over a billion people, but not as much water as some of the other parts
of the world so they’re facing a very serious water shortage.
Dr. Leutze
Even if water is available, there are many countries that lack the resources
to obtain it or to make it safe for drinking. On the other hand, development
and the lifestyles of the richer nations translates into an over use of water.
It’s used in pools, air conditioning, for lawns. Water consistently is
not even in the top ten things Americans worry about. The average American uses
110 gallons of water per day. Through conservation that could be cut dramatically.
But even if cut in half, we would still be consuming more than ten times the
amount used in some parts of the globe where people have less than three gallons
per day.
Water problems are compounded when the land is paved over and the forests cut. Nearly everyone we talked with stressed the importance of trees in the water cycle. World wide 40 million acres of forests are lost each year. In the United States, the problem has been mitigated through reforestation. Trees and vegetation are vital to water preservation and quality. Forests and plants cushion the earth in times of rain, allowing the water to seep into the ground, rather than runoff, leading to erosion or worse, flooding.
V. Water Shortages Globally, in the US and in NC
Dr. Leutze
The international scope of water scarcity is alarming. By 2025, two-thirds of
the world’s population is likely to live in countries with moderate or
severe water shortages. Though the rains have returned, the drought of 2002
in the United States revealed just how threatening our own water problems have
become.
In 2002, the wells ran dry out West and we saw ranchers
sell off their herds rather than watch them die of thirst. The 2002 drought
began to shatter North Carolina’s complacency about water. Once considered
a “water rich” state, the drought showed us that we, too, had taken
this irreplaceable resource for granted. Conditions were so severe that some
towns were hours away from running out of water.
Dennis Brobst, Director, Public Utilities, Moore
County, NC
And what happened was there were so many competing uses upstream from us that
basically the water level in the river stopped. We did not have any water coming
down, our intakes were actually above the level of water, so we could not draw
anything in for the drinking water system for Vass so we had to scramble around
a little bit to get some. We actually had to truck some water in for a day using
the volunteer fire department to bring water in to actually pour in the river
to pump up to our treatment plant to treat it.
Henry Nixon, High Rock
Lake Resident
I came down here as a kid in the early forties - ‘40, ‘41. And I’ve
been coming off and on ever since.
Tom Blaylock, High Rock
Lake Resident
I never have seen it like this in the summer time and I’ve been coming
down here, here twenty-five years.
Stephany Farquhar, Owner,
High Rock Lake Marina and Campground
The ducks are gone, the spiders are gone, the lake bugs are gone. It’s
just, it’s devastating. Now I have children coming up to me crying asking
why I can’t do something because the fish are dying. Now what, what do
I say?
Dr. Leutze
The drought was so severe that Governor Mike Easley became the first Southern
governor to ask the federal government for agricultural drought relief.
Dr. Leutze
Governor, what led to your decision in July 2002 to ask for federal drought
relief for North Carolina?
Governor Mike Easley
Well at July, was pretty much through the agricultural season, so that we could
see there was going to be a lot of agricultural damage. We don’t usually
ask for disaster relief, as you know, until the season’s over and we can
calculate what the damages are. But in the middle of July and the corn's not
up, or it hasn’t pollinated, the soybeans are dead, all of those type
things, we know we can calculate immediately, so I wanted to start asking for
disaster relief immediately.
Dr. Leutze
Has there been any calculation of what the drought cost North Carolina in terms
of losses, agriculture and other kinds of losses?
Governor Mike Easley
Well, just directly with agriculture, somewhere between 350 and 400 million.
We lost; you know farmers work on two and three percent production rate yield
and profit. We lost, 25 to 60 percent of the yield, in most counties, some counties,
of course, you lost it all on some crops. However, at the same time, we lost
a lot of livestock due to the fact that pastures weren’t giving us any
yield. The other thing that people forget is the economic loss for business,
not only nurseries, landscaping business those things associated with water
in that regard, but also our manufacturing businesses. So many of those that
require water that’s not recycled had to cut back on the hours, on the
production and then even if you weren’t in the Central Coastal Plain of
the Piedmont, down on the coast, where they had plenty of water, or at least
much more, the lack of water upstream was causing the saltwater to back up and
then Weyerhaeuser and other institutions couldn’t use the water and then
people started getting brackish water in their water systems. So, it hit us
pretty hard, in ways that we really can’t, at this point, calculate.
A. Internationally
Dr. Leutze
Water is essential to survival. So critical has the issue of water become that
the United Nations recently declared water scarcity and water quality to be
among the world’s most serious threats to peace.
Former Senator Paul Simon has examined this issue.
Paul Simon
The intelligence agencies, the CIA, the military intelligence agency and the
others got together. They do this periodically for the President. They give
an assessment of where we’re going to be in 15 years and their assessment
was that in 15 years the great resource shortage in the world is not going to
be oil, but water. And regional conflicts are likely to take place over water.
Dr. Leutze
Control over who gets water is driving some of the worst fighting in the Middle
East. For example, part of the reason Israel wants to keep the occupied territories
is because these lands provide forty percent of its water needs. But the Palestinians,
and the adjoining Arab countries, are equally desperate for water and want the
lands back.
B. The US
Dr. Leutze
Conflict over who gets water and how much is a problem everywhere, not just
the Middle East.
The United States has its own international concerns with bordering Mexico. Though not as severe as in some places around the globe, it is nevertheless a growing concern.
C. Mexico
Dr. Leutze
Mexico’s population continues to soar and with it so have demands for
water. A bilateral treaty says Mexico is supposed to divert water from the Rio
Grande to Texas. But there isn’t much water left from the river after
Mexico uses what it needs for its burgeoning population. A treaty also dictates
that Mexico is supposed to get water from the Colorado River. But by the time
the river reaches Mexico, there’s barely a trickle left.
D. Colorado and Western States
Dr. Leutze
Border disputes over water are also occurring within the United States—and
have throughout its history. The most serious of these involve the Colorado
River. The seven states through which the Colorado passes are experiencing extraordinary
population growth and lush economic times. Cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas
have literally grown out of the desert. But there isn’t enough water to
go around and legal battles over water are escalating. With those seven states
wanting more and more water, California has become desperate. The time may come
when California will be forced to choose between providing water for its growing
cities or for its bountiful farmland.
E. North Carolina
1. North Carolina and South Carolina
Dr. Leutze
Because North Carolina shares and competes for the same water resources with
bordering Virginia and South Carolina, we have our own set of interstate problems.
Rapidly growing South Carolina gets at least a third of its water from streams
and rivers that originate in North Carolina. The Pee Dee and the Catawba Rivers
are among the main suppliers of South Carolina’s water. The Catawba has
the larger population base. Development is booming in the Catawba region, especially
around Charlotte. Cities, industries and homeowners require water and electricity
to grow. There are more than three-dozen municipal water supply intakes along
the river. Yet, growth also means millions of gallons of treated wastewater
are discharged into the watershed daily. Non-point pollution, when water runoff
picks up pollutants and deposits them into the river, is also a growing concern.
The result is that water declines in both quality and quantity by the time it
reaches South Carolina.
Duke Power has thirteen dams and eleven lakes on the Catawba. Some environmental groups oppose dams both here and worldwide on grounds that they upset nature’s balance and the health of river systems. Duke Power’s dams generate electricity to meet the growing needs of the region and keep water flow fairly constant. The dams also keep flooding to a minimum during heavy rains, thus helping both North and South Carolina.
2. North Carolina and Virginia
Dr. Leutze
North Carolina’s struggles with neighboring Virginia were of a different
sort. What happened was that Virginia Beach’s population began to mushroom
and with it the need for water.
Tom Leahy, Water Resources Manager, City of
Virginia Beach, VA
Well, historically the forces that have caused the military and the population
and the industry to locate here have been the confluence of the James River,
the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, all of which are salty in the southeast
Virginia and the Hampton Roads region. We’re also very flat. Well, this
makes it an ideal place to site jet bases, an ideal place to port aircraft carriers,
an ideal place for the largest coal exporting port in the nation. But beginning
in the late ‘70s, we started to find that the Norfolk system was unable
to meet our demands and ultimately we, in the 1980-81 drought, the city was
rationing water and on the verge of shutting down industries, so the city launched
an effort to solve this water supply problem.
Dr. Leutze
After dozens of studies and months of debate, Virginia Beach concluded that
the only workable solution was to build a 76-mile pipeline from Lake Gaston.
Lake Gaston is located approximately 125 miles west of Virginia Beach. It is
the second reservoir in a series of three, which straddle the Virginia-North
Carolina state line.
Boyd Strain, resident and
member of the Lake Gaston Association
I think the property owners came here because of the plan for the lake. It was
a constant level lake, it was high quality water, it was a rural environment
with a beautiful recreation area. That’s why most of us came here to develop
property and particularly in retirement and in recreation.
Tom Leahy
People around the lake were extremely agitated. They didn’t want us to
take the water. Our position was that they wouldn’t notice the difference;
this was a very small amount of water from a very large resource.
Dr. Leutze
Technically the process of taking water from one basin and discharging into
another is called interbasin transfer.
Boyd Strain
I felt then and I still feel that we should not be moving water across interbasin
transfers. We should not be using the water of one system to help with another.
Particularly when that help is to allow urban growth. Urban growth should be
managed with the resources that are available rather than taking someone’s
resources to provide what’s needed.
Dr. Leutze
The decision to build the pipeline sparked a 15-year battle involving Roanoke
River Basin lobbyists, angry North Carolinians and federal agencies.
Hal Sharpe, President,
Roanoke River Basin Association
Our organization, the Roanoke River Basin Association, has argued all along
that they’re not entitled to that water, because that entity does not
exist within this river basin. Therefore, we have a violation of the Doctrine
of Riparian Rights, in as much as they don’t exist in this basin. But,
also we have coming out of that interbasin transfer, which we view as extra
legal.
Dr. Leutze
It became a multi-million dollar legal war between the states.
Boyd Strain
We hired a lawyer, Virginia Beach hired batteries of lawyers. We used public
response and newspapers and television to try to bring the issue forward, hopefully
to gain support for our side that this should not be done.
Hal Sharpe
If federal judges allow Virginia Beach to build a pipeline, then what is there
to keep other municipalities, such as Raleigh, such as Durham, such as Chapel
Hill from trying to eye with envy and possibly even building a car to this same
river system?
Dr. Leutze
Virginia Beach eventually won the legal battle and in 1997, water from Lake
Gaston began to arrive, providing the city with fifty per cent more water than
it had before.
Tom Leahy
Looking back at it North Carolina did what any state would do; they did what
Virginia would have done or Virginia Beach would have done if positions had
been reversed. Virginia Beach did what it had to do and I’ve seen conflicts
in Texas and Oklahoma and some conflicts brewing between South and North Carolina
and down in Alabama, Georgia and Florida that are almost exact mirrors of the
Virginia Beach/North Carolina conflict.
A. As the World in Miniature
Dr. Leutze
In some ways North Carolina is the world in miniature. We share some of the
same problems as other states and other countries. Seeing ourselves in miniature
may be helpful in better understanding the plight of others. But in a more practical
way it may also help us as we seek solutions here at home.
B. Competing Economic Interests (High Rock Lake)
Dr. Leutze
Water levels here at High Rock Lake dropped 24 feet during the 2002 drought—and
grass grew where boats had once docked. Marina owners watched their businesses
go from bad to worse as property values fell all around the lake. Some owners
objected to being taxed for waterfront property when it no longer existed. And
others considered a class action suit over their property valuations.
Alcoa Power Generating, Incorporated, controls the water levels at the lake. They use the water to generate electrical power. During the extreme drought of 2002, despite the company's good faith efforts, lowered lake levels had a devastating effect on all kinds of small businesses.
The lowered lake levels had a devastating affect on all kinds of small businesses.
Stephany Farquhar, Marina
Owner, High Rock Lake
Our lake end of the business is gone, totally gone. It will come back when the
water comes back, but it’s down about 300 thousand dollars just from the
lakeside. Our campground side is down about 25 to 30 percent. We have those
campers that didn’t come for fishing or boating that are still coming,
but those that were lake related campers they are not coming. They’ve
told us, let us know when the lake comes back and we’ll be back.
Dr. Leutze
In December 2002, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that the company
should maintain water levels during the recreational season at no less than
five feet below full -- except in extreme circumstances. This was viewed as
a victory by residents and small businesses, but they understand that the problems
could reoccur.
Stephany Farquhar
Well, our hopes are that everyone has learned something from this. The lake
will come back up, it will take rain, but perhaps all of the entities downstream
have learned to better manage the lake, because in the end everyone is going
to suffer from this, not just High Rock; it’s gonna be drought problems
all the way down to Myrtle Beach. So, hopefully we’ll learn and not let
this happen again.
C. The Needs of a Water Dependent City: The Case of Greensboro, NC
Dr. Leutze
North Carolinians, as do others around the country and the world, get their
water in a variety of ways. Some draw directly from rivers, others from shallow
wells, and still others by drilling deep into the aquifers. Man-made reservoirs
are also an alternative. Reservoirs are artificially created bodies of water,
usually designed with a dam to hold back or release water from a river.
Colonel Alexander
What we found, with all these projects, regardless of what their original purpose
was, they today, serve many purposes: flood control, power production, water
quality, water storage, to allow us to improve or control the impact downstream
of the ecosystem, to protect against the intrusion of saltwater wedges, and
the impact upstream from that and, it also upstream from these dams in some
way to provide economic benefit in terms of recreation, marine operations, fishing
additionally. So these are clearly multi-purpose projects.
Dr. Leutze
These man-made projects are also a water lifeline to cities such as Greensboro.
John Morris, Director,
NC Division of Water Resources, Department of Environment and Natural Resources
You know many of our towns were built on the rail lines and rail lines usually
run along the ridges and so it’s pretty dry up on the ridges and so towns
like Durham and Greensboro are not blessed by nature in having lots of water
nearby.
Dr. Leutze
Though few people knew it, the drought of 2002 actually began in the summer
of 1997. Greensboro has no natural water supply and emergency officials realized
that trouble was close at hand. When the drought hit Greensboro in full force
in 2002, the city immediately imposed both voluntary and mandatory restrictions
and launched an ambitious conservation program, but none of this was enough.
Greensboro’s main water hope always lay in the construction of the Randleman
Reservoir. This “new” water source was vital to the city’s
long-term survival. Upon its completion, engineers predict a dependable fifty-year
water supply for Greensboro and adjacent communities. The reservoir covers three
thousand acres. There’s another three thousand acres of buffer, consisting
of a strip approximately 200 feet wide around the reservoir to protect water
quality. The project was costly and not without controversy. Although it was
for the common good, there was a personal cost.
Roy Stamey, Woods and Wetlands
Store employee and Randleman resident
I was told that the dam would not affect me personally to the point to where
I would have to move, okay, originally. It would take a portion of the land
but as far as having to move; I was told they would work with me in whatever
way they could to make sure what I wanted I would be able to get by with. I
wound up having to move, because I was told they just weren’t going to
put a road in for me and that there was no alternative, I’d have to move.
John Kime, Executive Director,
Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority
They have what they’re asking, we have what we think is fair market value
and obviously, depending on whether you’re buying or selling, those numbers
may be far apart.
Roy Stamey
I had 3 payments left on my house. I would have been out of debt physically,
you know with the big payments and now I’m back into debt for the next
30 years and being almost 54 years old that’s, you know, not something
to look forward to.
John Kime
You know the main thing is that these kinds of projects guarantee that for the
next 50 years, that you have a stable, long-term source of water. It creates
mainly a sense of stability in the region.
Lloyd Smith, Woods and
Wetlands Store and Randleman resident
I hate that all the people lost all of their, especially the big farmers, the
large farmers that had a lot of land that had been in their families for hundreds
of years. I hate that, but I think overall that it’s going to help with
the community. I know it will help the tackle, fishing tackle and hunting industry
considerably in this area. But overall, I think it’s more pros than cons.
Dr. Leutze
The Randleman Project may be the last such project in North Carolina. Experts
cite the lack of suitable space, growing public opposition, and environmental
roadblocks.
But the project yielded a considerable benefit: despite differences, there was general recognition that water scarcity was a problem. Cooperation and compromise emerged, and will be essential for our water future.
John Kime
To my knowledge, it’s one of the few times that six different governments
have come together voluntarily to create a water supply and to have a regional
approach, which I think is probably going to be the model for how these things
are done.
D. Upstream / Downstream Issues Along the Cape Fear
Dr. Leutze
Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capitol, bordered by Durham, the Research
Triangle Park and Cary; it’s known as the Triangle. It’s also known
as one of the fastest growing regions in the country. People come here for jobs,
good schools, culture and a high quality of life. Population growth in the triangle
from 1990-1997 was 13.2 percent compared to the statewide increase of 12.0 percent.
In addition, there was a 43 percent increase in the amount of developed land
in the area. Estimated water usage for the region is expected to increase 95
percent by 2020. It was hoped that the Lake Jordan Project would take care of
the enormous demand for water.
B. Everett Jordan Reservoir, located just west of Raleigh, is a multi-purpose facility. In addition to supplying water, it was designed for flood control, recreation and wildlife conservation. This area is at the upper end of the Cape Fear River Basin and the man-made lake collects water from the Haw and New Hope Rivers. Two thirds of Jordan Lake is set aside for downstream flow, contributing to the Cape Fear River.
Growth is occurring not only in the Raleigh area, but all along the river, including Wilmington. More people, more development, strains water quality and water supply.
Dr. Courtney Hackney, Professor,
Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
The needs of Wilmington have changed, as well as the upstream needs of the people
in the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain have changed. And, what’s essentially
happened is that the development upstream has meant that there is more pressure
on the water coming downstream, so that what we get is not exactly the same
quantity or quality. Now from the downstream side, Wilmington in an effort to
develop, has enlarged its harbor, changed the depth and the width of the river
and all of that activity has let saltwater come far upstream. So where Wilmington
once sat on a fresh water river, now it sits in an estuary, which is saline.
Dr. Leutze
As saltwater enters, it kills all those ecosystems that are dependent on freshwater.
This is happening all over the world.
Dr. Hackney
And what you see is the salt starts to come in; you see the tree rings get smaller
and smaller and smaller. And they reach a point where you see most of these
have limited canopies, just a few branches. Trees don’t die like animals
do, they don’t die all at once, they’ll have branches die and ultimately
there’ll be just one branch left and then the last one goes.
E. Emergency Action Over a Swiftly Depleting Aquifer: The Capacity Use Area
Dr. Leutze
North Carolina’s water problems are not all the same. The topography dictates
differences, as does population density and even what’s underground, in
those aquifers we talked about earlier. When aquifer depletion becomes serious,
the state can step in.
Dr. Leutze
Are we standing on top of an aquifer here?
Richard Spruill, Associate
Professor of Hydrology, East Carolina University
Yeah, there are lots of aquifers here. As a matter of fact, if you were to drill
a deep hole here you’d find almost a thousand feet of sand, silt and clay
beneath this spot. And in that sequence, we could probably define about five
or six really high quality aquifers.
Dr. Leutze
Are we draining these aquifers? We hear that they are going down in size…in
size or depth or whatever.
Richard Spruill
Over the last 15-20 years, our water levels have been declining, in this area
at rates of two to four feet per year. Further south in the New Bern and Jacksonville
area they are declining at six feet per year, and further south still near the
South Carolina border, some of our aquifers show water level declines in excess
of ten feet per year.
Dr. Leutze
This is especially serious in coastal areas where saltwater can intrude. Aquifer
depletion in the Central Coastal Plain area became so serious that the state
did, in fact, step in. The area was on the verge of running out of water—and
may have jeopardized its underground water supply for generations to come.
John Morris
What we’ve discovered is that over a period of decades we have taken out
more water than can recharge and so it’s like having a big bank account
and a small income, and one day your banker calls up and says….”I’m
sorry, son, but you’re going to be broke next week” and so the solution
to that is that we have to gradually reduce the amount of water we’re
withdrawing from those aquifers and that’s what the permit system does.
The other equally important part of the solution is that these communities need
to develop other water sources that will be sustainable for their future needs.
Dr. Leutze
The Division of Water Resources convened a stakeholder group, made up of a cross
section of water users, to work toward a common solution. The work of this stakeholder
group resulted in the Capacity Use Area Rule, which requires that large water
users in the Central Coastal Plain reduce their reliance on these aquifers by
as much as 75% over the next 16 years. Although the rule was necessary, it placed
a considerable hardship on the people in the Central Coastal Plain. These 15
counties, some of the poorest in North Carolina, now have to find alternative
sources of water, which can be extremely expensive.
Jean Crews-Klein, Vice
President of Business Development and Natural Resources, North Carolina Rural
Economic Development Center, Inc.
There is definitely a technological solution for each of those 36 most affected
communities. Several of those solutions are going to cost big bucks. And understanding
the underlying economy of the area is imperative on the part of those that are
going to make political decisions and funding decisions for these alternatives
as we go forward.
Dr. Leutze
Kinston, North Carolina had the most serious groundwater depletion problem of
all the communities in the Central Coastal Plain. Yet Kinston has led a cooperative
effort to establish a new water authority. The plan is to use water from the
Neuse River as a regional resource, thus helping Kinston and their neighbors.
Dr. Leutze
Do you think rural communities, smaller communities, like Kinston face problems
that are not faced by larger cities? Are your problems different?
Ralph Clark, City Manager,
City of Kinston
I think that we have to approach them differently. We don’t have the growth
and population to offset some of those costs and we don’t have the revenue
stream that most do, so we have to find some efficiencies to do this and the
collaboration among us together helps, gives us the strength we need to do that.
F. Rural v. Urban Issues
Dr. Leutze
Rural communities all throughout North Carolina are facing water issues. Many
towns need new and updated facilities, but in many cases they simply can’t
afford it.
Billy Ray Hall, President,
North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Inc.
When the last five or six years we got our first wake up call, when we went
out and inventoried the water and sewer systems of the state in 1996 and 97,
which by the way the Rural Center did, and we were glad to do. But we inventoried
each community’s water system and its sewer system and we found we had
an 11 billion dollar problem in terms of the cost to upgrade our water and sewer
systems, to meet existing pollution standards. Now that’s 11 billion dollars!
Dr. Leutze
The ability of rural communities and small towns to pay more disappeared when
textile and other businesses closed down. Now there’s no money available
from taxpayers or townships to pay for new water treatment plants.
State grants and loans for such projects are practically non-existent. And as
of the year 2000, the federal government terminated its involvement in these
matters.
Dr. Leutze
Though the crisis is real, much is being done with respect to helping resolve
our water problems. Some of the solutions being tried, here and around the world,
involve technology.
With saltwater covering 97% of the earth’s surface, many people believe the answer to our water crisis is turning saltwater into fresh water. The technical term for the process is desalination and it’s being used in various places around the globe.
Paul Simon
Desalinated water is available in almost every area where you have a problem.
California has a problem – all kinds of water right at their doorstep.
Texas is going to have a problem in a very few years – all kinds of water
right at their doorstep. Middle East – all kinds of problems, all kinds
of water right there. But it is still too expensive to generally use, but we’re
gradually improving it but we need governments and we need private companies
to do more research.
Dr. Leutze
A modified version of desalination is being tried with success. But it’s
with so-called “brackish” water, which is water close to the ocean,
but is considerably less salty than seawater. Brackish water is also much less
expensive to purify.
Dare County is home to the famous “Lost Colony,” the Wright Brothers’ flight, and the beloved Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It’s a tourist mecca, but the area is adjacent to the ocean and sits on saltwater. It had to do something to provide for its own residents, and the great influx of tourists. The county’s approach? Purify brackish water, of which it had plenty; through a process known as reverse osmosis.
Bob Oreskovich, N Reverse
Osmosis Plant, Dare County
We use reverse osmosis membranes. And the membranes we have reject over 99 percent
of all the minerals from the water. We operate at a 75 percent product recovery;
three out of every four gallons that come into the plant produce drinking water.
The other gallon washes away the minerals that are removed in the process.
Dr. Leutze
Along with technology, better planning is on the agenda for the future.
Governor Mike Easley
We will step in and help you, but let me tell you, I want our investments in
that regard to be long term not patchwork. I don’t want to get us get
through the fall into the spring; and then we got problems again the spring
and the summer. We need to fix our systems state-wide and we need to be looking
long term at everything that we do.
Dr. Leutze
Another area we need to take a hard look at is how much we pay for water. Because
we thought it was an infinite resource, cost didn’t matter much. But the
more precious this resource becomes, it inevitably will cost more.
John Morris
As we develop new water sources we will be buying land at what it costs in 2002
not what it cost in 1950. The cost of energy and electricity is much higher,
the cost of chemicals for water treatment, so it’s just inevitable that
water will cost more. I think we need to develop some kind of a system to perhaps
have a basic water rate that would protect low income and retired people from
excessive water rate increases.
Dr. Leutze
Perhaps our greatest hope lies in conservation.
Dr. Leutze
Let’s talk a little bit about solutions. You very evocatively titled your
book, The Last Oasis. What is the last oasis?
Sandra Postel
The last oasis refers to the idea that we can’t keep looking for more
water, that we have to look more carefully at how we can better manage and more
wisely use the water that we already have access to. And there are a whole range
of things that that involves that we’re just beginning to look at and
tap into.
Dr. Leutze
Talk to me about some of those.
Sandra Postel
Well, conservation technologies are a good example. There are many efficient
technologies in irrigation, in industries that we can use in our homes that
we’re just not using to the extent that maximizes their potential. A good
example is drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is about the most efficient methods
we know of to irrigate crops. It’s a system of tubing that delivers water
at very low volumes, very low pressures, directly to the roots of plants, so
you’re virtually eliminating evaporation losses and eliminating the kind
of wasteful runoff that you can have when you’re just flooding fields
with water.
Dr. Leutze
Another solution being tried is water reuse-water that’s already been
used is treated and used again before being put back into the rivers. By using
water more than once, we expand its supply. Reclaimed water can be used for
many purposes. Though not always drinkable, it can be of service especially
in preserving our underground water supply. Among other things, reclaimed water
can be used for lawns, shrubberies, car washes and golf courses.
In Craven County, for example, reclaimed is used to irrigate recreational areas. This reduces the need to tap into groundwater. There are also cities and towns, which are implementing innovative conservation programs.
Jennifer Platt
People have to know why it’s important to use water wisely. So we have
the education programs we go out and do in the elementary schools, we have workshops
for adults and we have our Block Leader Program. And to our knowledge it’s
the only town in the country that’s using the Block Leader Program to
educate neighbors about water conservation. We also have incentives. A lot of
people are going to reduce their water use because it affects their pocketbook.
So we have the tiered rate structure where the more you use the more you are
going to pay. We have the Alternate Day Watering Ordinance, which is everybody
has three days a week to water. We have a Rain Sensor Ordinance which requires
rain sensors on irrigation systems so they are not watering while it's raining.
And then we have the Water Waste Ordinance so people can’t be watering
so long it’s running down the streets and using a precious resource wastefully.
Dr. Leutze
We need to treat water differently and better.
Jennifer Miller
To me the water and the air are going to be issues that will cross all boundaries,
all world views and hopefully, will unite people. What other two topics are
so central? We can’t live without water, we can’t live without air.
Governor Mike Easley
I look to look at it more of a responsibility on the part of every single citizen
to do what they can, to make sure that we have the water we need not only in
North Carolina, but in the nation and the world.
Sandra Postel
There is an ethical dimension to every decision we make about how to use it
and how to manage it. And it requires that we understand that every living thing
needs an adequate amount of water for their survival, which means sharing water
with each other as people, as countries that neighbor each other and share a
river, or as one species among millions on the planet that we have to learn
to share what’s there.
Jennifer Miller
I have often joked that if I have a gravestone, some day, I would like it to
read, “Where’s there life, there’s hope.” I think the
river is a metaphor for life.
Dr. Leutze
No single technology or no single strategy is going to solve all of our water
problems. Instead, it will take a combination of strategies and technology.
It will also take a new awareness of the central role of water in our lives.
Every city... every town... every industry... every farm... every individual
will have to examine the way in which they use water and commit themselves to
use it more efficiently. Most essentially, it will take cooperation between
all of us.
End