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For the record 9/11/08

Posted on September 11, 2008September 11, 2008 by Staff

Infrastructure challenged

This has been a banner month for rain in a wetter-than-usual summer season. There’s cause to celebrate the fact that our reservoirs are now nearly full and the two-year drought is abated.

But the return of wet weather brought with it a not-so-subtle message that Carrboro and Chapel Hill have significant challenges ahead.

The rains of Tropical Storm Hanna, along with the soaking we had several days prior, were a reminder that years of development and redevelopment place an increasing burden on our stormwater infrastructure and on the creeks and waterways that so many of us cherish.

Booker, Bolin, Meeting of the Waters and Morgan creeks all jumped their banks last week, flooding backyards, basements, parking lots and low-lying properties.

Residents near University Mall were once again faced with evacuating across the instant lakes that are parking lots on dry days.

At the bottom of the hill on South Greensboro Street, the Triem property was inundated and the pipe under the street once again proved that it can no longer channel the rush of water when rain falls too fast in too great a quantity — a situation that must improve if that property — and many others like it — are ever going to see significant commercial use.

New rules for runoff due to ongoing quality problems at Jordan Lake already are forcing the county and the towns to rethink and redraw rules for dealing with stormwater in southern Orange County.

The recent rains reinforced that in addition to the need for improvements for water quality downstream, we are also faced with a serious threat to the waterways that flow through our towns. Heavy runoff leads to scouring of the creekbed, destroying habitat and washing large amounts of grit and sediments into the stormwater systems. This should underline to our public officials that controlling runoff and limiting impervious surfaces are not just arcane points of debate. We measure the quality of our streams by their ability to support life. Naturally, the more we force them into the role of conduits for watershed by pavement and housing, the less natural they become.

For all of its downsides, the past week has shown that the drought had a least one more — masking a growing infrastructure problem.

These won’t be cheap problems to solve, but as was demonstrated at Eastgate Shopping Center, which several years ago saw $10 million in flood damage, they can be fixed and worrisome areas can be revitalized.
Infrastructure problems often lie hidden and only come to light in the event of failure. Sometimes, though, there are hints, and in the past week or so we saw plenty of places where clues rushed to the fore.

Candidate letters

Next week, we’ll be adding space to the paper in preparation for the run-up to Election Day. All candidates for office are invited to submit an essay outlining their views and why they should be elected. Candidates interested in submitting an essay should check in with our editor ahead of time for length and deadline guidelines at editor@carrborocitizen.com
Letters of support from the citizenry are also encouraged. So we have room to publish them all, we ask that you keep letters about single candidates to 300 words. Letters in support of multiple candidates should be no more than 350 words.

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