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.

I-40 repair completion ends DOT 21.7M blunder

Repair of NC DOT's $21.7 million blunder has ended. The contractor has finished removal and replacement of faulty concrete that was supposed to last for 30 years. A final surface layer will be applied that is intended to make the new surface last for 10 years.


The bottom line - NC DOT failed to make sure proper instructions were given to the original contractor rebuilding a section of I-40 in durham county. Now $21.7 million that could have been used to build new roads or repair damaged ones is gone forever to fix a mistake by the DOT.

This is enough money to eliminate the funding gap that would have allowed construction to begin on the western part of I-540 that is now on indefinite hold. Commuters in the southern and western parts of the area must continue enduring daily backups and extended commutes on crowded roads and town streets with no relief in sight.

Unfortunately the same management of the state's DOT organization is still intact and continuing with the same management style that led to the I-40 funding waste. Accountability is not a word known within the NC DOT and poor management of funds and inability to find ways to secure new funding for needed roads and repairs will be part of life in NC until the current Governor's administration comes to an end.

News & Observer
August 21, 2007
Bruce Siceloff, Staff Writer

Big part of I-40 repairs complete

Lane Construction Corp. ripped out the last of the bad concrete on Interstate 40 in Durham County Monday night -- and finished removing the N.C. Department of Transportation's 10.4-mile mistake.

The on and off ramps on westbound I-40 at N.C. 54 (Exit 273, Chapel Hill) were closed overnight while Lane replaced faulty concrete with fresh asphalt.

That, DOT engineer Eben Miller said Monday evening, completes a major phase of Lane's $21.7-million contract to repair concrete that failed because of DOT's blunder in a widening project in 2003.

The DOT gave the wrong instructions to a different contractor, who incorrectly applied a 3-inch concrete layer to a stretch of I-40. The problem affected two lanes in each direction from N.C. 147 Durham Freeway in Research Triangle Park to U.S. 15-501 and the Orange County line.

The new concrete was supposed to bond with the original concrete beneath it. It was supposed to be good for 30 years.

Instead, the top layer began to expand, buckle, crack and crumble.

So DOT hired Lane to remove the bad concrete and replace it with asphalt. The third inner lane was not affected, and it is still solid concrete.

Later this week, Lane will do some cleanup work.

Next week, probably Monday, Miller said, Lane starts putting down a 5/8-inch layer of special asphalt that will cap all three lanes in each direction (including the inside, all-concrete lane). The material is designed to make the ride smoother and safer and to make the new asphalt last about 10 years. Original article...

Flex space popular again

Flex space, buildings designed to be used for offices, storage or light manufacturing, is becoming popular again due to rising costs of prime rental space. Flex space lost popularity late in 2003 after much of the current supply was built and is now becoming attractive again.

News and Observer
April 9, 2007
Jack Hagel, Staff Writer

Flex space back in the race
Slowdown since '03 ending; vacancy rate at 5-year low

Surging office rents are causing more investors and developers to return to a somewhat forgotten frontier: the flex market.

Just ask Adam M. Lutz. His Farmington Hills, Mich., firm is the latest to bet that flex space -- property that can be used for offices, warehouses or light manufacturing -- is ready for a rebound in the Triangle. Read more...

NC 55 Widening in Wake County

According to Bruce Siceloff's note in the December 19 News and Observer the long awaited widening of NC 55 is about to be completed.

Mr. Siceloff had this to say in his December 19th article about NC 55 widening: "No fooling. By the end of this week, the state Department of Transportation expects to have all four lanes of N.C. 55 open for traffic from U.S. 64 in Apex north to Interstate 40."

Unfortunately neither the State DOT or the Town of Apex has a solution to address the fact that the part of NC55 through the southern part of Apex is now and will remain the sole major bottleneck providing commuters with a daily dose of traffic frustrations. There is no plan to replace the old train underpass in Apex or widen the part of NC55 that goes right through town so most of the commuters will still turn off NC55 and take short cuts through neighborhood streets as they have been doing for many years.

This is yet another demonstration of the shortsightedness of the State and the Town in getting ahead of traffic and being able to handle the rapid growth that wont slow down in our lifetimes.

The Town of Apex has recently released an announcement that a plan has been set in motion to add a new section of the "Apex Peakway" that is intended to provide a route to connect both ends of the NC55 Apex blockade but this will be at least two or three years (if not more) in the making. Even then commuters will have to make additional turns and navigate onto town streets to go around the bottleneck.

If you are one of the many that has to deal with this never ending problem get in touch with your state House or Senate representatives or the head of NC DOT and let them know what you think!