With this year's abundant spring rain, memories of the recent droughts may be receding for some North Carolinians. Fortunately, that's not happening in Raleigh.
North Carolina is way behind both the climate and population curves when it comes to managing its water. Both changing weather patterns and the increased demands of a rapidly growing population mean that what was the state's almost limitless water supply will not be so any longer.
Despite the certainty of future water shortages, North Carolina does little to manage its water resources.
State government took tiny steps into water management last year when then-Gov. Mike Easley ordered emergency measures during the drought. Municipal water agencies also enacted tough policies to reduce demand. Many residents became frugal with the resource, recognizing that they'd wasted it in the past.
But now that the rains have returned and reservoirs are full, some of those municipal agencies are fretting. They want to sell more water because they need the revenue. In a properly managed system, the water agencies would generate healthy revenues when a sustainable amount of water was purchased by their customers.
Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, has started the next stage in North Carolina's water evolution. A bill he filed last month would institute permit requirements for users of large quantities of water and establish regional planning organizations for each of the state's river basins.
North Carolina considers itself the most progressive of the Southern states, so it is shocking to learn that we're so far behind everyone else in the region when it comes to managing water. Clodfelter's bill is modeled on Georgia's law. The rest of the southeastern states have management systems, too.
By requiring permits for those customers who use more than 100,000 gallons of water per day, the state would give itself the controls it needs to manage water use in times of shortage.
As demand approached available supply, the regional water managers would be able to implement orderly processes to guard against economic catastrophes.
The days when North Carolina could turn on the faucet and let it run without thought are over. We must manage our water supply with the best interests of the entire state in mind.
Clodfelter's bill is a good first step in that effort.
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