Dan Besse: NC Needs Comprehensive State Water Resources Plan
Submitted by itismyopinion on Tue, 02/05/2008 - 5:56pm
Lt. Governor candidate and BlueNC blogger Dan Besse has announced his waster resources plan. It will be interesting to see what the other candidates have to say on the issue.
NEWS RELEASE—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2008
NORTH CAROLINA NEEDS COMPREHENSIVE,
LONG-TERM STATE WATER RESOURCES PLAN
"Water resources have become our most urgent state planning need in North Carolina," declared Dan Besse, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
"The problem goes well beyond the looming crisis of the next ten months, when we will see mandatory restrictions on water use in cities and towns around our state," he said. "Our population is booming, and our economy must keep up. At the same time, ongoing climate change is projected to result in more frequent and severe droughts. The days of assuming unlimited cheap water in our state are over."
"We must face the need to manage this critical resource in our state for the long haul. Our people's health, our natural environment, and our economic future all depend on improved water management," he concluded.
Besse released today an eight-point outline of his "Water Resources Plan for North Carolina in the 21st Century". The eight points address the following:
1) Comprehensive inventory of resources and demands.
2) Creation of a planning baseline using existing demand trends.
3) Strengthening water interbasin transfer rules.
4) Establishing local, regional, and statewide water use efficiency planning.
5) Development of systems for reuse of graywater.
6) Plans to turn stormwater from a problem into a resource.
7) Creation of comprehensive water emergency planning.
8) Requirement that all state permit decisions account for water resources impacts.
Besse has the depth of background to address this issue on a statewide policy basis. He is a former chair of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission, former water discharge permit (NPDES) committee chair of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, and is now in his second four-year term as a member of the Winston-Salem City Council. Winston-Salem operates one of the best-prepared water/sewer utilities in North Carolina
We need this more than people realize.
These two are especially intriguing for me, due to their potential for conservation of our potable water supply:
The decision to use potable water for virtually all of our water needs should have been addressed and reversed decades ago. Our toilets are the single biggest users of "drinking" water, a function that graywater is ideal for. Yet we still haven't changed the way most new homes and businesses are piped, because only a handful of people have enough vision to see beyond next week.
Stormwater runoff is a huge problem. It's (by far) the single biggest cause of pollution to our water supply, carrying man-made toxins, fertilizers and pet feces into our lakes, streams and rivers. Urban areas are the worst, but suburban areas are not much better, with an average of 60% of all surface area being impervious. The farther this surface water travels, the nastier it gets. We have to disrupt this migration and infiltrate it into the soil (which cleans it); if we do this, it will cut pollution a great deal while replenishing our watershed. It's...a fantastically complex undertaking, but it must be done, and soon.
Expanded summary of the plan's eight points
Thanks to itismyopinion for posting this in your blog. I meant to use mine, but the day got away from me before I got around to it.
For the BlueNC audience, which likes more than the soundbite version, here's the extended summary version of the plan's eight points. Naturally, each one could easily be further fleshed out to a page each, but we can leave that to later.
Water Resources Plan for North Carolina in the 21st Century
(1) Undertake a comprehensive statewide inventory of water resources and demand, including the following factors:
What are the capacities of our existing resources (reservoirs, in-stream taps, treatment facilities)?
What are the reliable flow volumes of rivers and streams that can be tapped?
What is the sustainable output of available groundwater resources?
What are the existing transfers between basins and among jurisdictions?
What is the existing municipal/industrial demand?
What is the existing agricultural and silvicultural demand?
What are the sustained in-stream flow requirements to meet water quality maintenance, recreation, and wildlife/aquatic habitat needs?
Map all this data.
(2) Establish a planning baseline by projecting current-trend demand growth and patterns based on population and economic trends. We can work from this data to analyze what we must do and how quickly we must take the necessary steps in order to address existing problems and manage developing conflicts.
(3) Establish stronger authorizing laws for the Environmental Management Commission's interbasin transfer rules, taking into account projected future needs, as well as current minimum flow demands, in the review of transfer authorization requests.
(4) Establish statewide guidelines and requirements for local water use efficiency planning. Provide state assistance (technical and financial) to local governments and regional councils of government in meeting these requirements. Strongly encourage and assist system leak detection, repair, maintenance, and renovation. (This approach will emphasize local/regional planning within state guidelines.)
(5) Establish incentives for the development and implementation of systems for graywater reuse (irrigation, industrial uses).
(6) Turn stormwater from a pollution problem into a resource through broad implementation of measures such as rain barrels, rain gardens, grassy swale conveyances in place of curb-and-gutter systems, and use of wet detention ponds for irrigation purposes.
(7) Undertake comprehensive water resource emergency planning on a local, regional, and statewide basis. Incorporate both intermediate and severe emergency stage plans. Empower local governments to work on a regional basis through councils of governments, and provide incentives for this cooperation.
(8) Require all state permit decisions (e.g., power plants, wastewater discharges) to take into account impacts on water demand and supply.
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
Dan Besse
Very timely
Is there any way to get you to go beat some sense into the Durham City Council??
I'm sure everyone in the Triangle read The Independent's story last week highlighting our area municipalities' grand plan for what to do when the taps run dry: send us all out to buy bottled water.
Water that's pulled from our own groundwater, by Raleigh's Pepsi bottling plant, that they will then turn around, mark up 3000% or so and sell back to us as Aquafina.
Anyone else see a problem with that?
Bueller?... Bueller?
no one here by that name
Sorry, AG, Bueller's taken the day off...
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
Dan Besse
Useless.
Durham government (city & county) is full of wasteful spending and complacent people.
Thanks for this whole post, IMO and Dan. Vision is what this state needs.
If Durham won't listen to us, maybe they'll listen to a LOLcat
There's another one on my other blog.
[Picture is one of a series that my husband took of Jordan Lake from the Hwy. 751 bridge, back in November 2007. LOLcatted via ROFLbot. Picture (c) Paul Cory.]
Yeah, I know Derm doesn't pull from Jordan Lake, at least not directly, but he didn't have any images of Lake Michie for me to grab.
Thanks for the details
Dan,
Thank you for releasing a very strong and thorough water resource plan, and thanks for providing details.
It is very good to have candidates who can show that they really understand the issues.
John Shaw
Cary, NC
itismyopinion
The unexpected thing....
about the water shortage is the nuclear power plant angle.
Dan, would you care to talk about this, the idea that we will have to shut down our nuclear power plants if the water gets a little lower?
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Fossil plants also affected
We hear more about nuclear plants because the water level for shut down is set by the NRC. But fossil (coal, oil, gas) plants are also affect. In order to operate they must pull water from a lake or river. If the level falls below the intake, the plant will not operate.
Also, the efficiency of the plants that do not use cooling towers depends upon the water temperature. The warmer the water, the less efficient the power plant (applies to nukes and coal burning). Plants pull water off the bottom of the lakes to get cool water. As the level drops, the water can become warmer, reducing the efficiency, increasing the cost, and possibly reducing the maximum power output.
John Shaw (itismyopinion)
A real risk
It's a very real risk for both the McGuire and Harris plants. Reservoir levels are close to the shut-off point under the NRC license terms for both plants. They could well have to be shut down for periods this summer if the drought continues as projected. That will play havoc with nuclear power's "reliability" and "efficiency" as touted by the utilities.
Nuclear reactors require a large volume of cool water for evaporative coolant use to maintain safe operation. If the clean water level goes too low in the reservoir upon which the plant relies--or if the water temperature gets too high--the reactor must be shut down as a precautionary measure.
The large water demand by reactors is one of the less-well known factors indicating that renewed nuclear construction is NOT a wise approach for our energy needs. Beyond the safety and reliability concerns, drawing so much water for evaporative use by the plants takes it away from other growing needs.
As itsmyopinion indicates, reliable coolant supply is also a requirement for coal plants, but it's a particularly acute problem for nuclear.
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
Dan Besse