FEBRUARY 18, 2010 ISSUE
Boone Committee Wants To Keep Tight Lid on Water
Despite a decline in water usage in 2009, a majority of the Boone Water Study Committee wants to maintain stringent control of the town’s water supply—a move that, according to one council member, could stymie development in the town and prevent needed growth in Boone’s tax base.
The committee, which includes the mayor and all five members of the Boone Town Council, met February 11 at the Town Council Chambers. The committee voted against reprioritizing water allocations and decided not to amend Public Utilities Ordinance 05-01 to allow for water extensions into the secondary pressure zone.
The committee also heard a request from David Bixby, owner of Village Laundry, to consider lower water rates for commercial users but took no action on the matter.
Public Utilities Ordinance 05-01, adopted in 2005, limits the amount of water the town can allocate to new projects each year. The ordinance was originally drafted to only allow for the allocation of 450,000 gallons per day (gpd) to future projects. The Town of Boone currently has a water capacity of 3 million gpd.
When a water system reaches 80 percent of capacity, the N.C. Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) recommends a plan for expansion. If expansion is not under construction by the time a water system reaches 90 percent of capacity, the state can impose a moratorium on new water hookups. The town is currently seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a new raw water intake on the New River that would provide an additional 4 million gpd, which is not expected to come online until 2014 or 2015.
In 2009, the average maximum daily demand was 1.93 million gpd, down from 2.13 million gpd in 2007 and 2008. Public Utilities Director Rick Miller has stated he believes that decreased usage is due not only to conservation but also to the economic recession.
At a January 21 meeting of the Boone Town Council, a request for a water and sewer allocation of 69,938 gpd for a planned apartment complex on Shadowline Drive prompted the council to request that the Water Study Committee determine if water previously allocated to other projects can be reprioritized. Because the town has borrowed from future years’ allocations for past projects, there are only about 25,000 gpd left in the 2011 allotment.
“The allocations for some of the projects sitting dormant could be reprioritized for use on other projects,” said Miller in a memo to the committee. “For example, some subdivisions have been allocated water but have not ‘built out’ as fast as once thought.
“We could rob Peter to pay Paul,” Miller added at the meeting. Miller guessed that between 60,000 to 80,000 gpd could easily be reprioritized.
Donna Lisenby, the Watauga Riverkeeper and member of the committee, said she appreciated that some developments haven’t yet used up their water allocations but suggested the town should conserve that water instead of reallocating it to different projects.
Town attorney Sam Furgiuele also advised the committee that the General Assembly’s Permit Extension Act of 2009 extended development approvals for any permits valid between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2010, which could apply to water allocations.
Town Council Member Lynne Mason suggested that the town allow for more gallons per day to be released—allowing up to a maximum usage of 2.2 million gpd, still under the 80 percent threshold—to create more room for development. She said the town must strike a balance between being good stewards of the public water supply and allowing development that can increase the town’s tax base and water customers—which will be needed to pay for the new intake.
“We need to be cautious, but I don’t want us to be scared,” she said.
Water Committee Member Jim Buchanan said that sounds like a dog eating its own tail.
“There’s something circular in this that seems scary,” he said.
On Committee Member Pam Williamson’s motion, the committee voted 8-5 to recommend preserving the current water allocations.
“We need to stick where we are,” Williamson said.
The committee also discussed water extensions into the secondary pressure zone, which is prohibited by Ordinance 05-01. The committee did not take action on the matter, but members voiced opposition to allowing extensions into the secondary pressure zone, citing fire safety.
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