Water levels inching back
By: Jessica Stringer, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: City
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Children in Chapel Hill and Carrboro can look forward to long days at the pool this summer because of loosened water restrictions.
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority lowered water restrictions from Stage 3 to Stage 1 on April 10, so now pools can be filled and topped off.
When the drought was at its worst, water restrictions were tightened in stages, limiting activities like gardening and car washing.
But Thursday, reservoirs were 72.4 percent full, compared to the low of 40.05 percent on Feb. 26.
Parks and Recreation Director Butch Kisiah said now the department can finish topping off pools like the A.D. Clark outdoor pool at the Hargraves Center.
Kisiah said it is only a matter of weeks before completion of the Homestead Park Aquatic Center pool. It will be filled with 400,000 gallons of OWASA water.
OWASA Board Member Braxton Foushee said he was in favor of lowering restrictions so people could return to their normal lifestyles.
"We had to get to Stage 1 before we could fill any of the pools for the kids this summer and the University could water their fields and play baseball," Foushee said.
Field-watering restrictions concerned Kisiah, especially because of the new 6.1-acre sod field at Southern Village. Now the sod can be laid and watered with OWASA water.
But Kisiah said he is still concerned about a lack of rain.
"The question mark we have is if the rain quits and we have to go to higher restrictions, we have to stop irrigation," Kisiah said. "If we can't irrigate, we're going to look into other ways to get water or we're going to lose the investment."
Kisiah said the department is looking into a well system for the fields for future water shortages.
"It didn't take us long to get in this situation," Kisiah said. "Right now the track record is that we might be in it again."
Kisiah said that the department will be better prepared the next time a drought occurs.
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he spoke to Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy about drought concerns.
"If the months of April and May are dry months then we could still be in a serious situation," Chilton said.
Chilton said he was curious why OWASA skipped over Stage 2 to go back to Stage 1. But Stage 1 is only in effect for 30 days and Chilton said he wants to revisit the decision in May.
He said that even though the community has grown, Carrboro residents are using less water now than before the 2002 drought.
The drought has forced people to consider water a limited resource, which they will continue to conserve, he said.
"To some extent our water consumption behavior has been changed not just today but permanently."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
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