Public Forum To Examine Water Laws

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority's public hearing tonight will be the last opportunity for public input on a new water conservation ordinance before it is sent to county and town governments for approval.

OWASA Planning Director Ed Holland said the revised ordinance includes better ways of determining when water is in short supply as well as stricter conservation guidelines year-round to ease the effect of drier seasons.

Holland said the new system for measuring water supply will give OWASA a more accurate trigger to alert the community to a shortage.

"The trigger in the existing ordinance is based on days of remaining storage left in reservoirs," he said. "We found this summer that this was not a particularly responsive way to determine a shortage."

The new ordinance will incorporate a system that takes into account time of year and stream flow.

"OWASA's staff and board would be able to make a better determination of when to go to other (restriction) levels."

Holland said the stricter water-usage restrictions will help the community stave off a shortage and cope with any shortage that does occur.

Citizens would be limited to watering their lawns three days per week year-round and prohibited from watering during the day, when more water is lost due to evaporation.

During stage one water restrictions, only one day of watering will be allowed, Holland said.

Under the new ordinance, "the penalty for violation of (the ordinance) could potentially be having your water shut off," he said.

OWASA has been revising the ordinance since October and has incorporated public input at several stages in the revision process.

One provision that has received a lot of public attention is the effect of water conservation restrictions on greenhouses and gardeners.

The revised ordinance will allow 1/2 inch of watering for gardening purposes.

Dickie Dickinson, owner of Dickinson Garden Center, said OWASA has been very receptive to public input about the effects of the previous restrictions on businesses like his.

At OWASA's public forums, Dickinson said he spoke on behalf of the landscapers and gardeners in the area who were hard-hit from previous water restrictions.

"I think everybody across the board agreed that the old policies related to water demand management were unfair."

Dickinson said the new ordinance is more flexible for gardeners and landscapers.

"With the input from the public and the many hours the OWASA people have spent on this, we are all comfortable with the way things are going," he said.

After tonight's hearing, OWASA's board will send the ordinance to Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County officials for approval at their joint Jan. 16 meeting.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.