Water’s All This Drought Talk ?….

 

If you take a look at some of our local water supplies here in the Triangle, things are starting to look somewhat normal…

Where once we’d seen dryness—there now is water flowing again in smaller streams and creeks…and some bodies of water don’t seem as empty as they once were…

 

But don’t be fooled..

 

Just like beauty being only skin deep—the water we’re seeing in just on the surface…

You’ve got to look beneath the surface to understand the real story.

This diagram shows how groundwater flows. When we’re not in a drought, water fills both the yellow and blue area.

Lakes, ponds and streams which are in the midst of that yellow area normally have underground water seep into them, along with surface runoff.

But in a drought, the groundwater diminishes.

Until groundwater “recharges”— lakes, ponds and streams can’t replenish their “base flow” or seepage from underground. They can only get surface runoff.

 

Our meager winter rains have added little groundwater—only surface water.

 

 

That’s why hydrologists are so worried.

 

 

Even though our lakes look full—once the warm weather comes— they’ll empty twice as fast because we have no ground water to keep them replenished.

Meanwhile, many of our municipal leaders are still acting way too conservatively when it comes to limiting water use.

 

We need tougher mandatory rules NOW.

 

And, they really need to be actively seeking new sources of water immediately—sources that won’t take years to bring on-line.

 

Here in the Triangle, if the water runs out for Durham and Raleigh, everybody’s fall-back position is “we’ll just tap Jordan Lake.”

 

Although Jordan lake IS a county resource—it’s not limitless…

 

 

It seems to me if you’re a municipality like Durham that’s tapping Jordan now—you need to be in major rationing mode.

 

And while we’re at it—let’s set ONE standard for water conservation.

 

Right now—one community’s Stage 2 restrictions are someone else’s Stage 5.

Let’s have a single, state-wide standard—so we’re all looking at the same bucket—so to speak…

 

With the prospects of a long, hot summer ahead—I’d rather my leaders be extremely stingy with our water now—so we won’t be extremely thirsty with nothing to drink in August.

—Steve

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