By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors are scheduled to hold a special meeting today (Thursday) to consider tighter water restrictions.
On the heels of a call from Governor Mike Easley for North Carolinians to step up their conservation efforts, OWASA officials are requesting that the board approve stage two restrictions, which will further tighten outdoor watering rules and reduce the amount of daily water use allowed by each household.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the OWASA boardroom on Jones Ferry Road. (See list of stage two restrictions on Page 12)
Ed Holland, OWASA’s planning director, said that water demand has been higher than the target the utility set when it adopted stage one restrictions on September 27. OWASA had hoped to lower demand to 8.3 million gallons a day down from the estimated normal use of 9.3 million gallons per day for the month of October. But demand has remained high, Holland said, in part because warm weather has kept university demand up, because it needs water to run its chiller plants for air conditioning campus buildings. Holland said it also appears that people are not conserving as much as OWASA had hoped. Colder weather should drop some demand, he said, but the utility is still worried about a persistent lack of rain and predictions of a dry winter ahead.
As of Wednesday, reservoir levels were close to 50 percent of capacity. OWASA has estimated that it only has enough water for five to six months.
More than half of the state’s counties are experiencing exceptional drought conditions, the highest level of drought. Most of the rest of the state is not far behind.
In a special drought message to the state, a somber Gov. Easley said he was disappointed that some towns have not moved fast enough to impose restrictions.
For more information on water use and conservation, visit the OWASA website at www.owasa.org
OWASA’s water conservation rules and tips are at owasa.org/pages/conservation.html
Conservation measures are available in Spanish at owasa.org/pages/custservice_sp.asp
For information about the drought in North Carolina, you can visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s drought monitor web page at http://nc.water.usgs.gov/drought/
OWASA Stage Two Water Conservation
Excepts from adopted water conservation ordinances for OWASA customers;
A. Water use by individually metered residential customer accounts and by individually metered single-family residential irrigation-only accounts shall be limited to no more than an average of 800 gallons per day during any monthly billing cycle beginning after the declaration of a Water Supply Shortage or Water Supply Emergency and ending while such restrictions are still in effect.
B. Spray irrigation with OWASA-supplied potable water shall not be permitted, except by persons regularly engaged in the sale of plants, who shall be allowed to irrigate their commercial stock in trade.
C. Irrigation by underground, drip irrigation, micro spray, low precipitation bubblers, soaker hose systems with automatic shutoffs, or by hand held hoses or watering cans shall be limited to a maximum of one-half inch of water applied to plant material in any given week.
D. No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used to re-fill ornamental fountains, ponds, and like devices.
E. No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for washing vehicles, except at commercial or institutional car washes in which at least 50 percent of the water has been recycled.
F. No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for filling or re-filling empty swimming pools. OWASA-supplied potable water may be used to top off operating swimming pools.
G. No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for the routine cleaning or washing of exterior building surfaces, decks, or paved areas, such as sidewalks, driveways, roadways, and parking lots. This restriction shall not apply to the pressure cleaning of exterior building surfaces or decks prior to painting or re-painting that is necessary to protect or maintain the physical integrity of the structure.
H. No OWASA-supplied potable water may be used for fire department training or equipment testing unless required by State or Federal regulations.
Penalties and Remedies
Any violations of the provisions of this Division shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days as provided by General Statute Section 14-4 and in addition thereto such violation may be enjoined and restrained as provided in General Statute Section 160A-175.
A violation of any of the provisions of this Division shall subject the offender to a civil penalty of twenty-five dollars for the first offense, fifty dollars for the second offense within a thirty-day period, and one hundred dollars for the third or any additional offense that occurs within any thirty-day period. The Town may seek to recover the penalty by filing a civil action in the nature of a debt if any penalties are not paid within 30 days.
Each day that a violation continues after the offender has been notified of the violation shall constitute a separate offense.
Since OWASA is the “authority” on water conservation issues, I would like to know what it is doing to conserve water. I think that it is ludicrous that there is dry lake bed sitting exposed and the “authority” is doing nothing to take preemptive measures to increase the holding capacity of the reservoirs. Conservation should begin at home, OWASA. Show us, don’t tell us, the way.
The very least the “authority” could do is to dredge out the muck (really high-quality topsoil, I bet) and sell it. Routine maintenance on the lakes is apparently just not done. Go out to University Lake and take a look at what is behind the dam. I’ll bet you might agree with me.
I suggest that we impose a moratorium on ALL new construction in the OWASA service area until something is done by the “authority” to conserve the resource that was running over the dam earlier this year.
– Richard Ellington