Opinion
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Boone's water plan
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Published: June 28, 2009
The town of Boone's proposal to put a water intake plant on the New River that could draw as much as 4 million gallons of water daily must be carefully scrutinized. The New, an American Heritage river and one of the oldest in the world, plays a vital role in numerous ecosystems, and is a major part of the tourism business in Northwest North Carolina. It must be protected.
The project site is in the Brownwood area, where the river forms the border between Ashe and Watauga counties. The plant would be in Watauga County.
Most towns and counties in North Carolina draw their water from rivers. But many residents in southern Ashe County were taken by surprise when word got out last year about this time that their area was at the top of the list for a potential pump station. Boone officials have done a better public-relations job in the days since, including through a joint meeting Tuesday night of Boone Town Council members and Ashe County commissioners.
Many more answers are still needed, and some should come when engineering and environmental assessments on the proposed plant are soon released.
But critics at the hearing worried that Boone is not giving enough consideration to the New's status as an American Heritage River, and they said the proposal process has lacked transparency. Some worried about the effect that drawing water from the river could have on Ashe County's future plans to use it, as well as on paddling and other tourism efforts.
"I wish Boone could find another source of water for their needs instead of using the New River," Judy Porter Poe, the chairwoman of the Ashe County Board of Commissioners, told the Journal the morning after the meeting.
But as it faces the prospect of outgrowing its water supply, Boone's options are limited. "One of the things you have to keep in mind is that Watauga is at the headwaters of everything," said Greg Young, the Boone town manager.
The town now draws its water from two tributaries of the New. Even if it was feasible for the town to shift to other tributaries or tap wells into the groundwater, it would still, ultimately, draw water from the New.
Supporters of the plan say that while the new plant's cap on outtake would be 4 million gallons daily, it would probably only draw about 1.5 million gallons daily. Most of the water used would be returned to the river, they say, and tests show that an average of 33 million gallons of water a day flow past the proposed intake site. A bill filed by state Rep. Cullie Tarleton that passed in the House and is now in the Senate would allow Boone to build the plant if it meets state requirements, and supporters note that it would have a submerged intake pipe if the bill passes. Tarleton told the Journal that he has not taken a position on the project, but the bill would give Boone the legal authority to build the plant if it meets environmental requirements.
Water is a precious, finite resource and must be protected. That certainly holds true for the majestic New River. Any proposal to use the river should be cautiously considered.
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