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Well owners do typically do a great job of conserving water. But this isn’t about regulating how much they use. Not at all. The state wants to know how much water well owners are using so they can include the data in a massive water resource model they working to develop. You can’t develop an accurate water resource model unless you know two things:
1) Total Amount of available water
2) Total Demand for water
From the article: “their water use is an unknown variable for state officials trying to develop accurate models to manage water resources during the ongoing drought”
We have a pretty good idea of how much water we have in Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, and the United States Geological Survey is conducting research to better determine the groundwater capacity this area has. So the first part of the equation is being answered. Now it is time to figure out the second part (Demand for water).
It is kind of hard to determine the demand for water when you don’t know how much of it 40% of the population is using.
From the article: “lawmakers are considering fining well owners if they don't report their water usage”
They are only considering fining well users if they don’t report. I doubt they ever would. This is most likely only being considered because they know it will be difficult to get people to participate in providing their water usage numbers unless they make it mandatory. We all know how well the “voluntary” water conservation measures were followed by the general public a few months ago. It was abysmal.
Don’t forget, this isn’t only about individual residents on private wells. This is also about knowing how much water is being used by huge planned communities that are served by community wells. There are also some large businesses that pull massive amounts of water from wells too. Knowing how much water everybody is using is the only way to develop a good water resources model and ultimately develop a water budget that the region needs to stay under.
NRG. I'm missing the connection between knowing what private well use is as it relates to the public Raleigh water system. Why must they know what 40% of the populations usage is if they do not provide that water to them today? Or is it in the event their wells run dry and they somehow have to tap into the Raleigh water system? If there wells run dry I think Falls Lake would already be dry. Or could it be a future way to tax that usage to make up for the lack of revenue the Raleigh water system is getting due to the conservation actions their users are taking? At some point they will run out of money to repair and maintain the system let alone add new water distribution systems.
I must be honest and say I do not know the ebbs and flows of underground water so my opinions here maybe worth less than some salt in the ocean but to me it is more of someone's pride getting hurt because they use city water when their not so far off neighbors lawn is green and growing because they use well water to keep it that way.
I am agreeing with the other poster that said the N&O article is not delivering all the facts.
If a homeowner pays for a well it is their's to use as they please. They are responsible to drill for another if it dries up. Not the city!!! Just the same, if a well water user is being wreckless with his/her water consumption, they are the only family affected. Both physically and economically.
Since water aquifers are not exclusively under YOUR property, it is not exclusively your water to waste. We are all in this together, but you would never believe that to read the outrage expressed.
Well, NRG is right. At least currently, they're not talking about regulating well owners' water use, but the idea of fines is what keeps me from thinking there isn't more to this than another state money grab.
Just remember - any state that will tax you when you buy a loaf of bread will tax you on anything. They've got to find a way to pay for maintaining the bureaucracy involved in monitoring everyone's well usage, and beginning with a benign-sounding "request" for everyone to track and report their well water usage (for which there are fines if you decline the "request") can easily turn into "well, we're having a drought, and we need to buy some rain or a hurricane, so we're taxing you X amount per gallon of your well water use..." Slippery slope.
You mean the stuff that needs TO BE WATERED/kept wet to keep it in workable condition? I hate to break it to you, but natural turf actually does better than AstroTurf in a "no water" situation....
You mean the stuff that needs TO BE WATERED/kept wet to keep it in workable condition? I hate to break it to you, but natural turf actually does better than AstroTurf in a "no water" situation....
OK....well you got me there. I guess I don't see them watering it here because it rains enough that they hardly have to do that...
They can always put down the old-school Astroturf and you don't have to water that any more than you have to water the carpet in your living room. (NC State infielders beware: grounders scoot like a bat out of hell on bone-dry Astroturf!) They can always put down new natural sod once it decides to start raining again. Which I'm rooting for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sacredgrooves
Maybe I should buy stock in a company that builds meters to monitor how much well water is being used...since virtually no one has such a device on their well.
Not a bad idea, but it begs the question - for those who do not have such a device, is the state willing to pay to have them installed if they are demanding accurate usage data with fines possible if they are not produced?
Last edited by jfre81; 02-28-2008 at 10:28 AM..
Reason: fixed spelling on sacredgrooves' name in quote :)
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Or could it be a future way to tax that usage to make up for the lack of revenue the Raleigh water system is getting due to the conservation actions their users are taking? At some point they will run out of money to repair and maintain the system let alone add new water distribution systems.
