Getting Serious About Water Conservation

Last night, at the initiative of Alderman Haven-O’Donnell, the Board of Alderman passed a resolution calling for stronger conservation measures than those in OWASA’s Stage One Water Restrictions.

Randee took particular exception to the 1000 gallons/day limit. Jacquie Gist wondered how anyone can use that much water and suggested 500 gallons as a more reasonable restriction for a time of drought. I agreed and proposed a resolution calling for residents to adopt that limit and for:

-Mayor Chilton to contact Mayor Foy to encourage Chapel Hill to have a parallel conversation;

-Mayor Chilton to inform our OWASA reps, Braxton Foushee and William Stott, that Carrboro wants to see tighter restrictions in place;

-the board to take a fresh look at OWASA’s long term water supply chart. We looked at this last year and it seemed to provide an adequate supply to meet our growth needs but, in light of the current drought, we may see it differently.

We also talked about ways for the town to provide better information to residents including well-placed links to OWASA’s water conservation guide.