| mySPIN |
 Water Wars
by Tom Campbell
October 15, 2009
North Carolina and South Carolina are waging a water war over who owns the water in the Catawba and Yadkin River basins. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deliberating the lawsuit, but this is far more than a war between the states. Skirmishes have already been waged among North Carolina communities, counties and even encompass the current disagreement between the state and Alcoa over renewing hydroelectric permits.
The South Carolina Attorney General filed the lawsuit after North Carolina announced a plan to allow two cities to pump up to ten million gallons of water a day from the Catawba and Yadkin River basins. Both rivers flow into South Carolina and the lawsuit asserts North Carolina should not be allowed to hoard the water and potentially drain the basins. South Carolina wants the court to declare some apportionment of water between the two states.
The court case provokes a discussion long past due in North Carolina. We have historically taken for granted an abundance of water from our 17 river basins, but rapid growth and lengthy droughts are calling many to question how long this abundant supply might last. We aren’t building or developing new water sources to keep up with the growing demand, partially due to lengthy permitting procedures, escalating costs of construction and inadequate revenues to support debt repayment.
North Carolina has the largest number of small water systems in the nation, according to information provided at this year’s Emerging Issues Forum; approximately 70 percent of our municipalities and counties operate their own water system. A recent report states that 138 out of 214 water systems in communities of fewer than 2,500 are losing money and unable to properly maintain their systems.
The issue of water affordability is often ignored. We are accustomed to paying little for clean water; in many cases customers are barely paying to sustain old and out-of-date systems that were put in place 40 or more years ago. The cost of water is virtually guaranteed to increase. Public officials often defer maintenance and replacements that will increase water bills. When they turn to state and federal agencies for funding, help is inadequate to non-existent.
This is a serious issue that begs discussion and action before more hard feelings and court cases erupt. We need a comprehensive water plan for our state that will address such issues as who owns the water, who determines how to best allocate available supplies, how we can protect and conserve water, how to develop new supplies to meet future growth, how to price water so systems can be maintained and expanded, and any discussion must include the equally important subject of wastewater treatment. A legislative study commission is discussing the matter now and we hope they come forward with concrete proposals to move this public issue forward.
The topic is timely, the impact on us all is significant and we have an opportunity to address this issue before it becomes a crisis. North Carolina has serious infrastructure needs at this moment, none more important than water, one of the essential elements of life. Let’s call a ceasefire to the current water wars and find mutually agreeable solutions that will ensure reliable, affordable and healthful supplies of water for the future. |
|
