Triangle wrings water from limited supply

Using reclaimed water, aka highly treated sewage, on lawns can help conserve drinking water. Several projects are in the works

No matter how parched the Triangle gets this summer, no matter how tough the rules on watering, the lawns in Cary's Wessex neighborhood will be a lush green.

Because even if the region slips into a threatening drought, the residents of this lawn-watering oasis at the town's northern edge won't be forced to cut back.

The water they use to sprinkle their grass would otherwise be discharged into nearby Crabtree Creek as treated sewage. Instead, Wessex is one of a small number of neighborhoods where the town is piping reclaimed water for outdoor irrigation from nearby sewage treatment plants.

"People spend a lot of money landscaping their lawns," said Vickie Maxwell, president of the board of the Wessex Homeowners Association. "The fact that we can water any time is nice, and it doesn't put strain on the city's water."

Raleigh residents face permanent alternate-day watering restrictions starting July 2, while Cary residents have been subject to similar rules since 2002. But people in Wessex can water their lawns whenever they want, day or night, often at a lower cost than those irrigating with drinking water.

Reclaimed water alone isn't going to satisfy the Triangle's need for more water, but it's among a number of conservation measures getting more attention as rapid growth in the region begins to stretch available supplies.

Most of the Triangle has enough water to provide for expected growth in the near future. Raleigh, which also provides water to eastern Wake County, will boost its water supplies by 25 percent when it taps Lake Wheeler and Lake Benson with the completion of a new water treatment plant in 2010. A new reservoir in eastern Wake, targeted for completion by 2025, will also increase capacity by about the same amount.

But water from the Triangle's two major reservoirs -- Jordan Lake and Falls Lake -- is already largely spoken for in current and future allocations, and no new major sources are envisioned or perhaps even possible.

Raleigh, Durham and Cary are looking as far as Kerr Lake on the Virginia border as a possible water source when demand exhausts local supplies, current and planned, possibly by 2040.

Sydney Miller, a water resources manager with the regional Triangle J Council of Governments, said those kinds of limitations mean the area will need to respond differently to keep pace with growing water demands.

"In the North Carolina Piedmont, there are probably not many places left to build a large reservoir, given growth and available land," Miller said. "Future water supply, as communities continue to grow, will depend on regional solutions, conservation and reuse."

Local restrictions

* THE RALEIGH City Council's decision last month to impose watering restrictions on a permanent basis -- not as a temporary response to drought -- was intended to promote the message of conservation while also reducing peak demand.

* JOHNSTON COUNTY, too, put in place alternate-day watering rules after peak demand on Memorial Day nearly reached the county's water plant capacity.

* IN CHATHAM COUNTY, the board of commissioners voted last week in favor of a 12-month moratorium on new, large-scale residential construction, in part because of concerns about the county's ability to keep up with growing demand for water.

* IN ORANGE COUNTY on Thursday, the board of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority will consider a tiered-rate structure with higher per-gallon charges for residents who exceed certain monthly usage limits. Cary and the Orange district already have similar practices at times.