By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
With some reluctance, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen agreed with an Orange Water and Sewer Authority recommendation to move from Stage III to Stage I water-conservation rules.
At their Tuesday night meeting at Town Hall, board members said they shared the same concerns OWASA had heard the night before from Chapel Hill Town Council members about loosening restrictions.
OWASA’s board of directors approved a change last Thursday after rains refilled University Lake and brought levels at Cane Creek back up to within about seven feet of full.
But officials in both towns said that with reservoirs still at historically low levels, OWASA should not send the wrong message to its customers.
“I feel like it’s premature, because it’s still early spring,†Randee Haven O’Donnell said. She suggested the board revisit the issue in six to eight weeks.
Aldermen briefly considered not approving the change, but were cautioned against it by Town Manager Steve Stewart and Town Attorney Michael Brough, who cited a long history of cooperation between the towns and the difficulties of enforcing a different set of rules.
OWASA’s executive director, Ed Kerwin, and Braxton Foushee, Carrboro’s representative on the authority’s board of directors, said in addition to above-average rainfall and a more favorable long-term forecast, there was a practical reason for switching to Stage I.
Foushee explained that if the decision had been made to ratchet back to Stage II, university and public swimming pools would not be allowed to fill their tanks for the coming season.
Foushee assured the board that he remained one of the more conservative members of the OWASA board and would be the first to propose a move back to Stage III if conditions worsen.
Kerwin said customers’ conservation efforts have been exceptional: “They have exceeded our expectations.â€
He later noted that the changes in water-use habits among customers are likely to extend beyond the drought.
The utility is also counting on new reclaimed-water projects in conjunction with the university to lighten demand for potable water.
Formally, the decision to change restrictions is done by each mayor and the chair of the board of county commissioners, a process that was also questioned by the board.
Chilton said he would try to talk with Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and Barry Jacobs, chair of the board of county commissioners, about the decision and how the elected boards might have more input in future conservation decisions.
Chilton also recommended that OWASA consider changing the rules to allow public pools to refill at higher conservation stages.