What we fail to realize is that even with copious amounts of rain, that water conservation in the southeast is critical to our ecosystem. Even more apparent is that the lack of water is eventually going to hit our communities where it hurts the most: in our pocketbooks. A few years ago, Michael Walden, an economist from NC State estimated that every time the state's water supply drops 10%, $50 to $100 million is lost. North Carolina is already cutting funding across the board to meet budget shortfalls. With a potentially severe drought on the horizon, money may not be available to recover.
In this morning's paper, the Army Corps of Engineers reported that inflow to Jordan Lake (the area's water supply reservoir) is about 20% of normal levels for this time of year..... but it has been raining... apparently not enough. We're about 2 inches low from July alone, and about 4-1/2 inches low for the year (roughly 15%). The drought monitor for the state ( http://www.ncdrought.org/ ) shows most of the state as "Abnormally Dry." My guess is that by the end of August into September, we'll be looking at water restrictions and at least "moderate drought" conditions. This change is occurring just a short time after the area was considered in "normal" condition, as recently as 2 weeks ago.
Which brings us to conservation. The good news is that when we look at the numbers over the past three years, water use in Durham and Raleigh has dropped about 10% (Durham: 12%, Raleigh 8%; data from the respective cities and the News & Observer). Water Conservation has become a buzzword among developers and legislators alike. With stormwater regulations becoming more stringent and parcels for development getting smaller, using collected rainwater is quickly becoming a viable and cost-effective measure for low-impact development.
The Town of Apex, a suburb of Raleigh, is getting ready to discuss (and probably approve) a pretty spectacular undertaking which will add about $6 billion to the Town's tax base. Veridea will be a planned mixed-use development of about 1,000 acres. The kicker is that Veridea is being planned "green". If it all comes to fruition, it will be one of the most sustainable developments in the world. My understanding is that it will be environmentally neutral... carbon, water, waste, etc. Neutral. If they can complete this project as planned, it will be an amazing feat... and a necessary one.
We have a long way to go to consider ourselves good stewards of the watersheds in the southeast. Happily, we are making strides toward that goal, and as the water resources become more scarce, we'll have some development in place to use as examples for others coming late to the game. We'll find out more in the coming weeks. There's a public hearing in Apex on August 18. More to come...
