The subject of water conservation has become of
worldwide concern. As supplies of water dry up or become
contaminated, municipalities are turning their attention to this
problem. River Bend, North Carolina is no exception. It's Public
Works Advisory Board has been directed to research potential problems and to
make recommendations to conserve water. This site will be devoted to
current problems here and in other jurisdictions
Numerous governmental agencies have responded and enacted various regulations almost daily to protect the nation's water supply. Violations can result in very heavy fines. Many crusaders proclaim that water is free and the property of the people. What they fail to acknowledge is that the systems owned by municipalities and private corporations that transport the water are very expensive to operate. River Bend, recognizing the importance of service, water quality, and escalating costs, acquired it's water system from Carolina Water Services in July 1996 at a cost of $3.4 million dollars which was financed through bonds.
Profile of the Town of River Bend
The Town was incorporated on January 1, 1981. It recently voted to adopt a Manager-Council form of government. It's population as of the July 1, 2001 is reported to be 2942. . It is a quiet residential community on the outskirts of New Bern, North Carolina, with very little commercial activity. Other than a small strip mall, a small office building, a market, two commercial offices , a disability center and a Shell gas station, River Bend has 1477 housing units as of the 2000 census.. One third of the homes are in the "flood plain" area which subjects them to many FEMA regulations. River Bend occupies 3 square miles of land area and has 15.69 miles of paved roads. It fronts on the Trent River and has a harbor, a navigable lake and a network of man-made canals to accommodate the many boaters in the area.
The Water Supply System
At the time of purchase, 990 homes were supplied with city water. River Bend had one water tower which has a capacity of 100,000 gallons of water. It's daily use of water totaled 260.000 gallons on average. Since acquisition of the water system, River Bend constructed a second water tower with a capacity of 300,000 gallons of water. 260 homes were added to the system for a total of 1250 homes using approximately 330,000 gallons per day. 200 more homes have access to city water but are not hooked up yet. The water usage per capita per day amounts to 125 gallons. Water usage by home owners totals 85% of the total water gallons used per day. Piping is PVC in various sizes from 3/4" to 8" for the main lines. Except for some isolated instances, each home and apartment has it's own water meter. The water system is managed by Water Resources Superintendent and two trained operators who also maintain the sewage system. Pipe lines and water meters are constantly being upgraded. Water quality is closely monitored.
Water is drawn from the Castle Haynes Aquifer located directly under River Bend.. Areas 1000' in diameter in the vicinity of well points, are protected from any type of construction, roadways or dumping of any type.
In addition to water supplied by the Town, many homes also use their private well water installations for watering their gardens and lawns. In most cases, the well water is not very potable unless it is filtered. The heavy incidence of iron and sulphur in some areas causes a rotten egg smell in a hot shower which requires special filters which must be changed every month. In addition the heavy concentration of homes on small lots may eventually result in contamination of private wells which will require hook-up to the Town water system. River Bend's sandy soil may postpone this event. Town water supplies are chlorinated and to improve the taste of the water, some homes are equipped with reverse-osmosis systems strictly for drinking water and the ice water and ice cubes from the refrigerator.
It is interesting to note the many different approaches to Water Conservation are being taken by various municipalities throughout the country. Some of these water conservation measures are covered in the web site sources listed below. Some of these municipalities suffer from serious drought and have little or no water. They resort to assistance from other distant municipalities to transport water by tanker trucks. Fortunately, River Bend is not in this position and it appears that current water sources are stable and able to meet the current demands placed on them. However, government restrictions on the use of water to protect water sources affects all municipalities. It is possible that the water availability in River Bend could rapidly change particularly if other municipalities tap into our aquifer. It is possible that this could become a serious problem?
As the map above indicates, North Carolina is in the midst
of the most severe drought has ever experienced. The drought which began
in 1998 is responsible for a drastic reduction of water in the lakes,
reservoirs, wells, rivers and aquifers throughout the State. It will
take two years of rainfall to replenish what has been lost. The towns of
Cary, Ashville, Durham and Greensboro have established full time water
conservation programs now in effect. One hundred fourteen (114) other
municipalities also have mandatory or voluntary restrictions in
place.
Cary residents can irrigate their lawns two days
per week. Hand watering is allowed on any day. Fines of $500
are levied against three time violators. Cary also has tiered water rates
(since 1998) for residents and non-residential customers. Greensboro like
Cary has also changed the way it charges for water usage. These actions
are working. Greensboro used 34 MGD in 1995. They have been
able to maintain the same usage each year notwithstanding the addition of 6000
new customers.
The drought continues in Greensboro and the
City has taken action in the face of a dangerous situation. Watering is
restricted to one day per week. It later prohibited the use of
irrigation and sprinkler systems. Residents can use a hand held hose to
water flowers. The residents of Concord have been under
drought restrictions this past year. The city allowed watering on
Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning February 2001. Water consumption
dropped about 30%.
City of Albuquerque - Operation Low
Flow
"Over 30% of indoor residential water use can occur
through the use of the toilet. To help its water customers meet the
conservation of a 30% reduction in per capita use of water the City effective
1995, offers a toilet rebate program to encourage customers to replace their old
high flow toilets for the newer low-flow models.
$100 Rebate - Single family
residential customers will receive a credit of $100 on their water bill for
replacement of one toilet; $75 for the second and $50 for the third."
Water conservation will continue to be a very serious problem
in North Carolina. Take a look at
50 Ways To Do Your Part
.
Sources of Water Conservation Information
Cleaner Water Through Conservation
Public Works - Water Conservation Office
Water Conservation - Single Family
North Carolina Division of Soil and Water
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Supply Planning/Drought Monitoring Council
North Carolina Division of Water Resources