The latest water crisis plea from North Carolina's Governor Easley is for NC towns and cities to solve water problems now before it is too late. Numerous pleas have been made during the worst drought in the state's history for everyone to take the new trend seriously and reduce water consumption. Neglecting this problem will result in water shortages at least throughout 2008 and probably well beyond since rainfall has not replenished regional water supplies and unchecked growth continues to place more strain on available resources.A variety of ideas on reducing water consumption have been suggested ranging from simply cutting back on water use to reducing or eliminating lawn watering to using rain barrels to capture rain water for outside watering. Changing shower heads to low-flow ones and eliminating small leaks in sinks and toilets will help reduce consumption and reduce water bills.
Another simple step everyone should take is to make a quick check for leaks in water pipe systems. A small leak will waste a substantial amount of water and can greatly increase water and sewer bills. We recently noticed that our water bill had not decreased in the four months following the end of summer garden watering and discovered our bill had doubled and was growing. After opening the cover to our water meter box we discovered that even with everything turned off inside the house the water meter dial was still turning! This is a definite indication of a leak in the pipe system. After crawling under the house and checking all the pipes and joints we knew there were no leaks and no water seeping from areas where pipes were out of view. This was an immediate indication that the underground pipe from the house to the water meter had begun leaking. The underground pipe is now being replaced and we expect it to cut our water bill by at least one half.
Read more about the urgency of finding solutions for the water crisis and reducing consumption...
News 14 Carolina
Updated: 01/14/2008 08:05 PM
By: News 14 Carolina Web Staff
Easley calls for 'permanent' water fix
GUILFORD COUNTY -- Gov. Mike Easley called on North Carolina towns and cities to attack the state's water problems now before it becomes too late. "Let's make this a permanent fix," Easley said. "Think in terms of, 'How do we fix this this year that fixes the problem for any drought that we might see in the future, any drought weather that we might see in the future.'"
Easley outlined three things he said would get the state started in the right direction. He said towns need to make sure they tap into additional water resources now. He promised that if those towns need extra monies, he would do all he could to make sure they got them.
"The state has $8 million in low-interest loans available for cities to create backup supplies," added Easley.
Water audits were also a big part of the governor's plan. He said as much as 25 percent of the water North Carolina uses every day is lost because of leaks in pipes. He said that number is unacceptable and called for water audits across the state to find and fix the leaks.
Finally, Easley said it's important for towns and cities to move to water conservation rates. A lot of times, these are tiered rate structures that charge the customers that use the most water more per gallon.
"Mayor Meeker in Raleigh suggested this, and he came out with a plan. The City Council is studying that. He was met with some resistance, there's no doubt about that," Easley continued. "But if you think people are upset when you hit them with conservation rates, they're going to be really upset when they run out of water."
Easley also called on residents to do their part to conserve. He said everyone can easily do water audits on their own homes to make sure they aren't losing water.
"Check your homes. If you turn off your water spigots, go outside and check your water meters," said Easley. "If it's running, you've got a leak somewhere."
"It's a nice time to practice conservation, before you really have to do it, added Joe Hudson, with Statesville Water Resources. "I would advise people to look around and see how they use water, and see if they can cut back."
Officials also warn that water will probably not be available next summer for typical outdoor uses like lawn irrigation
"You should not even think about reseeding or sodding your lawn," said Raleigh Utilities Director Dale Crisp.
The workshop was held at the Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department. When they answer a call, they have to use water, but at the station, they conserve like most residents.
"Just like everyone else, we try to be good stewards and not use any more water than we have to," said fire Chief Tim Fitts.
They're only washing fire trucks when it's really needed, and they've installed low-flow shower heads, one of the changes officials are proposing North Carolinians make by March 1.
Easley said if North Carolinians can conserve between 25 percent and 30 percent and all the water leaks are sured up, the state will easily conserve 50 percent of the water that is currently used.
"It keeps it in people's minds that we have to change the way that we think about water," said Easley. "It's not as plentiful as it always was. We have the same amount of water as we've always had but a lot more people in the state."
Currently, all of North Carolina's counties are facing a drought, and 69 counties are in the most severe drought level. Original source...
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