How much is your water worth

How much is your water supply worth to you?

Residents of North Carolina will no doubt be debating this new issue in for years to come as weather conditions and severe drought become a significant factor in the area. Water availability must be considered when planning new development and will be a major issue as the state's population continues to grow. Even the cost of water has become a raging debate as municipalities consider raising water rates in the wake of poor results to encourage conservation and stop wasteful watering practices.

Western states live with these problems in every day life since water resources are limited and citizens deal with problems locating new sources and sharing existing supplies. A couple of years ago while visiting in Colorado the scarcity of water was clearly demonstrated at an area horse farm north of Fort Collins. The residents of a small ranch for rescued horses made frequent trips to a neighbor's ranch pick up water from a deep well using a large tank mounted on a trailer to provide water for horses and people on the site. North Carolina residents have not reached this point so far but are beginning to plan for capture of alternative water in rain barrels to use for outside watering and other purposes beyond health and living needs. This will become a routine consideration going forwards to continue providing water for many neighborhood activities such as gardening, landscaping and washing cars. Our primary water supply may have reached a point where water will not be available for these activities unless new methods are added to our lifestyles.

Read the commentary about new problems with available water supplies and efforts to provide solutions for our future...

Winston-Salem Journal

Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Opinion article

The worth of water

North Carolina has not typically worried about water shortages, except for the occasional drought. But water won’t be as plentiful in the future, and North Carolinians will soon be required to adopt the kind of conservation that other Americans consider a fact of life.

Unfortunately, North Carolinians might also become accustomed to the intra-community struggles that Westerners regularly encounter as they search for new sources of water and try to preserve their traditional supplies.

Changing weather patterns may, or may not, lead to reduced rainfall in North Carolina. The more certain strain on our water resources, however, will come from the explosion of the state’s population. We’ve just gone over the 9 million mark, and there are no signs that this growth will end any time soon. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population will hit 12 million in less than 25 years.

The more people who come here, the more water we’ll need to meet their needs.

But as North Carolina water systems search for new sources to quench their customers’ needs, they’ll encounter resistance, whether it comes from folks downstream or from those who don’t want their lakes and reservoirs tapped by outsiders.

Questions of interbasin transfers and riparian rights may soon become as much of the public-affairs lexicon as terms associated with taxes, pollution and traffic are today.

To its credit, the N.C. Environmental Review Commission has started a yearlong study of state water policies and supplies. The commission, which is a legislative advisory panel, wants to hear from the public in the process.

The need for such studies is new to the Southeast, but it is not unique to North Carolina right now. Both South Carolina and Georgia are suffering from the same drought that grips us, and their leaders are also searching for solutions.

While the states will, no doubt, cooperate in some ways, they will also compete for what is a finite resource. South Carolina has already sued to stop a plan to divert 10 million gallons of water from the Catawba and Yadkin rivers to the growing towns of Kannapolis and Concord.

In the short term, ordinary North Carolinians can do their best to conserve water, both by adapting more efficient practices and by installing water-saving devices. As time goes on, we might all have to become more aware of the many issues involved in water rights so that we can make the best decisions for our community.

When it comes to water, things are changing, and we must prepare for that new reality.

Future sea level rise will flood many cities

New concerns about rising oceans from global warming present an ominous picture of the future. In about 100 years a substantial amount of land will be lost due to oceans rising about 39 inches. This is expected to happen even if steps are taken to reduce the increase of greenhouse gases.

Some 25,000 square miles of land will be underwater in southern and coastal regions. The effect will be seen from New York to Florida. More subway flooding is expected, along with some major airports being underwater and considerable loss of beach front properties.

Facts on rising sea levels:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:http://tinyurl.com/2df72n

U.S. Geological Survey:http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/cvi/

University of Arizona's interactive maps:http://tinyurl.com/ca73h

Architecture 2030 study on sea level: http://www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/coastal_impact.html

Read more about this alarming and growing concern...

AT&T News Service
September 22, 2007
Seth Borenstein

Sea level rise could flood many cities

(AP) - Ultimately, rising seas will likely swamp the first American settlement in Jamestown, Va., as well as the Florida launch pad that sent the first American into orbit, many climate scientists are predicting. In about a century, some of the places that make America what it is may be slowly erased.

Global warming _ through a combination of melting glaciers, disappearing ice sheets and warmer waters expanding _ is expected to cause oceans to rise by one meter, or about 39 inches. It will happen regardless of any future actions to curb greenhouse gases, several leading scientists say. And it will reshape the nation.

Rising waters will lap at the foundations of old money Wall Street and the new money towers of Silicon Valley. They will swamp the locations of big city airports and major interstate highways.

Storm surges worsened by sea level rise will flood the waterfront getaways of rich politicians _ the Bushes' Kennebunkport and John Edwards' place on the Outer Banks. And gone will be many of the beaches in Texas and Florida favored by budget-conscious students on Spring Break.

That's the troubling outlook projected by coastal maps reviewed by The Associated Press. The maps, created by scientists at the University of Arizona, are based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Few of the more than two dozen climate experts interviewed disagree with the one-meter projection. Some believe it could happen in 50 years, others say 100, and still others say 150.

Sea level rise is "the thing that I'm most concerned about as a scientist," says Benjamin Santer, a climate physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

"We're going to get a meter and there's nothing we can do about it," said University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver, a lead author of the February report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Paris. "It's going to happen no matter what _ the question is when."

Sea level rise "has consequences about where people live and what they care about," said Donald Boesch, a University of Maryland scientist who has studied the issue. "We're going to be into this big national debate about what we protect and at what cost."

This week, beginning with a meeting at the United Nations on Monday, world leaders will convene to talk about fighting global warming. At week's end, leaders will gather in Washington with President Bush.

Experts say that protecting America's coastlines would run well into the billions and not all spots could be saved.

And it's not just a rising ocean that is the problem. With it comes an even greater danger of storm surge, from hurricanes, winter storms and regular coastal storms, Boesch said. Sea level rise means higher and more frequent flooding from these extreme events, he said.

All told, one meter of sea level rise in just the lower 48 states would put about 25,000 square miles under water, according to Jonathan Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona. That's an area the size of West Virginia.

The amount of lost land is even greater when Hawaii and Alaska are included, Overpeck said.

The Environmental Protection Agency's calculation projects a land loss of about 22,000 square miles. The EPA, which studied only the Eastern and Gulf coasts, found that Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and South Carolina would lose the most land. But even inland areas like Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia also have slivers of at-risk land, according to the EPA.

This past summer's flooding of subways in New York could become far more regular, even an everyday occurrence, with the projected sea rise, other scientists said. And New Orleans' Katrina experience and the daily loss of Louisiana wetlands _ which serve as a barrier that weakens hurricanes _ are previews of what's to come there.

Florida faces a serious public health risk from rising salt water tainting drinking water wells, said Joel Scheraga, the EPA's director of global change research. And the farm-rich San Joaquin Delta in California faces serious salt water flooding problems, other experts said.

"Sea level rise is going to have more general impact to the population and the infrastructure than almost anything else that I can think of," said S. Jeffress Williams, a U.S. Geological Survey coastal geologist in Woods Hole, Mass.

Even John Christy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a scientist often quoted by global warming skeptics, said he figures the seas will rise at least 16 inches by the end of the century. But he tells people to prepare for a rise of about three feet just in case.

Williams says it's "not unreasonable at all" to expect that much in 100 years. "We've had a third of a meter in the last century."

The change will be a gradual process, one that is so slow it will be easy to ignore for a while.

"It's like sticking your finger in a pot of water on a burner and you turn the heat on, Williams said. "You kind of get used to it." Original article...

Narrow minded associations demand green grass during extreme drought

Area Home owner associations have crossed way over the line on demanding owner's have green grass and live trees during times of severe drought. The HOA for Margot's Pond subdivision in Wake Forest demand owners make the neighborhood "look good" no matter what and the hired enforcer, Talis Management is harassing them to make sure they follow the demands.

Have these associations gone too far? Do they have the right to demand watering during severe drought when there isn't even enough water to insure everyone will have clean water for drinking and bathing? This is a sign that some groups don't have the brains of a rock and should not be allowed to set rules that violate measures to prevent draining reservours and water supplies that supply the whole region.

Contact your representatives or the Governor's office to ask that these associations and organizations follow the same rules as everyone else so all will have a fair share of limited resources. Email the Governor's office (Click here) or call the Governor's Office at:
1-800-662-7952 (valid in North Carolina only), (919)733-4240, or (919)733-5811.

Read more about how this problem affects you...

News & Observer
September 7, 2007
Sam Lagrone and David Bracken, Staff Writers

Grass must be green, HOA decrees
Community board cuts homeowners no slack during drought

WAKE FOREST - Amid record drought and heat that have pushed Raleigh into severe water conservation measures, residents of the Margot's Pond community off Ligon Mill Road have been told by their homeowners association to keep the grass green.

"While the Board is aware of the inconvenience presented by the heat and water restrictions, we believe that having neatly landscaped lawns of grass is of the utmost importance to our community," said a letter sent to the homeowners in August.

Local homeowners associations are loosening restrictive covenants requiring green grass and manicured lawns. But the Margot's Pond association is not giving residents a break -- and it's causing dissension among some members.

In a letter Aug. 16, Talis Management Group, which carries out the policies of the Margot's Pond HOA, required the homeowners to have:

* Healthy grass free of brown patches and weeds.

* Living trees with mulch.

* Planter beds with living shrubs and flowers.

The letter gave an October deadline to meet the HOA standards. Violators would be subject to fines or "self-help" -- a landscape company would fix the violations; the homeowner would get the bill.

Vann Holland, a member of the Margot's Pond landscaping committee, thought the requirements were too stringent. In an interview with WTVD last week, she asked the HOA to "give the homeowners a break." Read more...

NC wildfires surge

NC has been hit with more wildfires this year than in normal years. The unusually dry months have created dangerous conditions that set the stage for fires from tossed cigarettes, lightning and other causes.

News & Observer
September 12, 2007
From Staff Reports

More wildfires blaze this year

North Carolina has been hit with more than 5,400 wildfires this year -- before the typical start of the fall wildfire season, state officials say.

The worsening drought has dried out pine straw and other forest fuels, increasing the fire danger. So far, 30,700 acres have burned statewide, state officials say.

In a typical year, the state has 4,931 wildfires burning 20,008 acres, according to the state Division of Forest Resources.

On Tuesday, winds between 15 mph and 20 mph helped the spread of several large wildfires. A 200-acre fire ravaged fields and threatened homes in the Orange County community of Hebron, after a corn combine caught fire. And a 50-acre blaze broke out near the Highcroft subdivision in Cary.

Earlier this summer, more than 150 wildfires burned nearly 2,915 acres in Robeson County. The Fayettevlle Observer reported that burning debris and arson were responsible for two-thirds of the fires.

Typically, most wildfires start in mid-September.

Because of the danger, the state has banned open burning, regardless of whether a permit has been issued.

That means all open burning is prohibited 100 feet or more from homes. Many counties also prohibit burning within 100 feet of homes.

Also, the state has banned campfires at public campgrounds, except for those in in metal-sided fire rings. The U.S. Forest Service is prohibiting all fires in the backcountry.

Violators face state fines of $100 as well as local penalties. Original article...

Recycling carried to a new level

Recycling lowers the urgency to find more new resources, helps reduce trash dumped along roadsides and in backyards, and has become a profitable big business for some. Recent news articles tell of copper tubing being stolen from construction sites and catalytic converters being removed from parked cars for precious metal content so thieves can "recycle" and sell materials. Home recycling helps reduce the volume of material going into landfills and often adds a little income for cities and towns.

Recycling has been a business for many years and junk yards are seen in industrial areas of many towns. "For the determined, scrap-hunting is a grueling, house-to-house quest. The worldwide hunger for scrap draws retirees and their trucks to the streets. The washtubs and faucets they haul across the scales might not make it into an Asian office tower, but the mad pace of building makes the metal more valuable everywhere" according to an article by Josh Shaffer and David Bracken.

Almost everything in our society produces volumes of waste, much of which can be salvaged and recycled -- packaging containing purchased products, newspapers and magazines, materials from buildings being demolished to make room for new ones, old cars and trucks. Even the food we eat offers the opportunity to "recycle" scraps to produce compost that can be re-used in gardens and around the yard.

Read more about this trend that is becoming a necessary part of our society and how it can produce a fortune for some willing to do the hard work to gather and sell byproducts of everything we consume...

News and Observer
August 4, 2007
Josh Shaffer and David Bracken, Staff Writers

Scrap metal: from trash to treasure
Hobbyists -- and thieves --cash in as demand spikes here and abroad

RALEIGH - An 80-year-old man with heart trouble spends his days bouncing over the Johnston County back roads, hunting for rusty farm equipment.

A thief sneaked into a scrap yard in Garner, made off with a bucket of old copper and immediately tried to sell it back for $100.

Just last week, 19 catalytic converters disappeared from a North Raleigh auto body shop. Over the past three months, more than 200 storm grates vanished in Durham.

Blame the invisible hand of scrap metal economics, which drives a global hunger for recycled junk that stretches to bridge-building in India and apartment construction in China. The tiniest, rustiest bit of metal discarded or stolen in the Triangle is wrapped up in a powerful global market that connects junkmen, recyclers and thieves with a construction boom in east Asia. Read more...

Nurserys offering drought resistant plants

Worried about your prized plants drying up during the traditional NC summer dry spells? Try planting more drought resistant plants. This also helps cut down on water usage as dictated by new rules on watering.

Many local nurseries have begun offering more plants that require less water and do well in dry areas. This helps the nurseries gain back sagging sales and also helps consumers have gardens that do better in the intense summer heat with less demands for water.

News and Observer
July 19, 2007
Vicki Lee Parker, Staff Writer

Nurseries adapting to drought
Plants that sip water get more shelf space

When the Triangle suffered a drought in the early part of the decade, Fairview Nursery's sales withered, along with many lawns.

Now as the region teeters on the verge of the third drought in five years, the Raleigh nursery's sales are up 8 percent.

No, it's not Miracle-Gro.

The lack of rain and the area's new watering restrictions are leading gardeners to seek plants that require less water. Local nurseries are stocking more drought-tolerant plants to meet demand. They are also selling more rain barrels, special hoses and other products aimed at consumers who are conserving water.

The trend, coupled with the region's surging population of homeowners, is creating lush times for local nurseries and garden centers -- a welcome change after several tough years. Read more...

Greenhouse emissions program

North Carolina is joining with other states in an effort to measure greenhouse emissions and get a better handle on how to work on global warming issues. According to Tom Mather, spokesman for the state Division of Air Quality, regulators don't currently require reporting of carbon dioxide but plan to begin doing so.

News and Observer
May 9, 2007
Wade Rawlins, Staff Writer

N.C. joint greenhouse emissions program

North Carolina has joined with 30 other states as charter members of the Climate Registry, a cooperative effort led by states to measure and track emissions of greenhouse gases.

The registry, a non-profit organization based in California, will provide a common accounting system for states, businesses and manufacturers to voluntarily report greenhouse gas emissions consistently across state borders and industry sectors.

North Carolina’s participation in the program is voluntary, but signals that the state is trying to get a handle on its greenhouse gas emissions. State officials now have only rough estimates of greenhouse gases emitted in the state. Read more...

Nuclear power in North Carolina

The debate goes on regarding whether to use more nuclear generated power or coal generation. But another concern is emerging about how to keep nuclear plants safe as spent fuel accumulates.

A News and Observer publication discusses an "emerging issue" regarding accumulation of radioactive waste at the Shearon Harris plant in southern Wake County...

News and Observer
April 15, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

Nuclear foes see danger in waste
Harris plant starts relicensing process

The Shearon Harris nuclear plant has long drawn scrutiny over the safety of atomic power. But safety concerns are shifting to an emerging issue: the buildup of radioactive waste at the site in volumes never anticipated when the plant began operating 20 years ago.

Longtime nuclear critics plan to highlight the nuclear waste quandary during a two-year safety review as Progress Energy seeks to extend the Shearon Harris operating license into the middle of the century. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold the first public meeting on the Shearon Harris relicensing on Wednesday in Apex.

The nuclear waste issue is gaining momentum nationwide amid growing concerns that nuclear plants are potential targets for terrorism and sabotage. With no long-term solution in sight for disposing of nuclear waste, many nuclear plants are storing three times as much waste as the temporary pools were originally expected to hold. Unlike the nuclear reactors themselves, the storage sites usually are not heavily fortified against attack. Read more...

Plants big business in North Carolina

Steve Troxler, state Agriculture Commissioner said in a recent news article about the "green industry in North Carolina" “We always knew the green industry was big business in North Carolina, but we didn’t know how big.” The plant business is big business in NC and includes all sorts of job resources - "greenhouses, nurseries, florists, sod producers, landscapers, irrigation contractors, lawn and garden centers, and Christmas tree farmers".

News and Observer
March 13, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

N.C. plant biz pumps in $8.6B yearly

North Carolina’s plant and garden industry contributes about $8.6 billion a year to the state’s economy, according to a study released today by the state Department of Agriculture.

The industry comprises greenhouses, nurseries, florists, sod producers, landscapers, irrigation contractors, lawn and garden centers, and Christmas tree farmers.

The study concluded that the industry employs 152,000 people statewide and includes 120,741 acres in production. The average homeowner spends about $838 a year on lawn and landscape expenses.

“We always knew the green industry was big business in North Carolina, but we didn’t know how big,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. Read more...

Smoking ban proposed in North Carolina

Will North Carolina change course on smoking in State owned facilities and ban smoking? According to this March 7, 2007, news article "State lawmakers in tobacco-rich North Carolina are headed for a showdown over smoking in public places."

The North Carolina Progress Board also issued a report on theimproving trend in Smoking in the state.

Exerpt from the article...

News and Observer
March 7, 2007
David Ingram, Staff Writer

Statewide smoking ban gains support

State lawmakers in tobacco-rich North Carolina are headed for a showdown over smoking in public places.

Spurred in part by a request from Mecklenburg County commissioners, the General Assembly is considering legislation that would allow counties and other localities to regulate smoking on their own.

Or lawmakers could go further. Read more...

Good news for Apex residents - EQ can't rebuild

Great news for Apex residents... The State of North Carolina Division of Waste Management said Tuesday that EQ is being barred from rebuilding the Apex facility destroyed in its recent chemical fire. EQ bypassed Town of Apex and sought to have the state grant an exception on a recent Town of Apex declaration because the company had been established in the now mostly residential area prior to town zoning changes banning hazardous material facilities in the area. This is good news for the thousands of Apex residents living near the former facility and may help to reduce anxiety about such a facility appearing nearby in the future.

A March 7, 2007, News and Observer provides details of the ruling...

News and Observer
March 7, 2007
Toby Coleman, Staff Writer

Hazmat plant can't rebuild
State: Violations were not reported

EQ Industrial Services kept silent about fires and chemical reactions that plagued its Apex hazardous waste warehouse in the two years before it blew up, the state Division of Waste Management said Tuesday as it barred the company from rebuilding.

State regulators say EQ flouted reporting rules intended to ensure that the people who live and work around hazardous waste warehouse are safe. They said the company should lose its permit to operate on Apex's Investment Boulevard and pay a $553,225 fine because it did not submit required reports of two fires and three potentially dangerous chemical reactions.

"Our actions today send a clear message that the state of North Carolina will not tolerate non-compliance with rules and non-reporting of incidents that occur at commercial hazardous waste facilities across the state," division director Dexter Matthews said in a prepared statement. Read more...