12 Feb, 2008
Now hear this! Why Raleigh and Durham are experiencing water difficulties...
This is an open letter to the City of Raleigh that I received in a newsletter from Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, NC. It points the finger where the blame should be placed!
I continue to await an
article that correctly shows who is responsible for the current water shortage,
but alas, no luck. Let’s look at the facts. Raleigh was 7.24" (17%) below normal for
its annual rainfall in 2007. In 2006, Raleigh
was 10.64" (25%) above normal in rainfall. For a two-year period, that put
us well above average. Is this the first time we’ve had well below normal
annual rainfall? Of course not. 2005, was nearly as dry as we ended that year
5.5" below normal. What did city officials do after that dry year? They
continued to encourage growth, sell more water, and did nothing to increase
future water supply. If you look at area lake levels, you will notice Gaston Lake
and Kerr Lake are full. Jordan
Lake is only down 8", while Falls Lake
is 8.4' below normal and Lake
Michie is 7.3' below
normal. Why are the differences so dramatic...poor planning! Being a Raleigh
native, I remember in 1981 when Falls and Jordan Lakes were completed and City
officials assured us Raleigh and surrounding towns would never again face a
water shortage or water restrictions. Fast forward 27+ years and residents are
now being blamed for the current water shortage, and are being asked to change their
lifestyle because City leaders didn’t properly do their job. Raleigh officials have oversold their supply
of water while encouraging growth beyond their ability to supply water.
Planning based on average rainfall forgets to take into account that averages
are just that...averages of two extremes...below normal years and above normal years.
Imagine a business the size of Raleigh or Durham making such an egregious
error in planning. Such a lack of foresight and poor management would most
certainly result in immediate dismissal of officers and board members, as it
should.
Any farmer will tell you
the first thing to do in a drought is to clean the silt from your pond or lake,
greatly enlarging your pool of available water. Since the 2002 drought, I have
watched and waited for Raleigh and Durham to clean the silt
from their water supplies, yet from driving by the lakes, this has still not
been done. Without a doubt, it’s more difficult for a municipality, since they
must work through the Army Corp of Engineers, and have the silt tested for
contaminants, but surely this should have been put on the fast track after 2002.
I’ve heard cost mentioned as a reason this didn’t occur, but that doesn’t pass
the laugh test. Compared to the loss of revenue from water sales and the tax
revenue being lost by affected businesses, this is false economics. Having
driven by area lakes, the amount of silt...i.e. rich topsoil, in both lakes is
huge, with its removal nearly doubling the water storage capacity. The
financial investment of cleaning the lakes could be easily offset by selling
the dredged topsoil to homeowners, landscapers, and developers.
Instead, Raleigh leaders have opted to further punish
homeowners and the green industry (nurseries, landscapers) businesses by
outlawing hand watering. I keep waiting for these same leaders to require all restaurants
to close or only use paper plates and cups. How about that long-awaited ban of
drinking Aquifina water, which is pumped from Falls Lake?
Yes, if the spigot to the Pepsi-Cola plant (Raleigh’s largest municipal customer) was
shut off, the water savings would be tremendous. Instead, city leaders have
chosen the easy path of punishing only the green industry...and now the power
washing industry. All other industries are only asked to follow best management
practices.
It seems we need to clue
the Council in that the green industry produces and sells a living product that
cannot be installed without water. These are the same city leaders that require
our plants to be used in the form of a mandatory landscape ordinance. Imagine
the outrage if our esteemed leaders did something equally as bizarre and banned
pet watering and bathing. To not allow any hand watering for the green industry
is the same as forcing a non-water dependant business to close. Where’s the common
sense? We’re all willing to do our part, but we are not willing to shoulder the
entire burden for the city’s lack of planning. Let’s start by cutting off the
water to these same city leaders that got us into this situation. Then, let’s
rescind the hand-watering ban and please, let’s think before passing any more
ridiculous regulations that put so many people out of business and residents
out of work...shame, shame, shame!
-Tony Avent
My sentiments exactly, Tony!
