That's a good question.

Forced by the state, Raleigh is restricting the intensity of development on about 5,000 acres from Falls River to Wakefield Plantation.

The purpose is to protect the quality of runoff that flows into the Neuse just downstream of Falls Lake.

That's where the owners of a former Burlington Mills textile factory off U.S. 1 hope to withdraw water to sell to parched Franklin County eight miles north. They say a study shows they could draw seven to 50 million gallons a day -- up to 15 percent of the Neuse's flow -- without hurting the river.

The factory typically drew about 4 million gallons a day when it was operating, according to state records. It returned treated wastewater to the river.

Franklin, which needs several million more gallons of water a day but has few options to get it, has asked the state to approve the withdrawal.

"It's a good project," says one of the factory's owners, Raleigh attorney Gene Boyce. "It sure could help southern Franklin. They're in dire need."

But most of Franklin is in the Tar River basin, so an "inter-basin transfer" of water could trigger strict state regulation.

And during the current record drought, the Army Corps of Engineers is letting just enough water flow out of Falls Lake -- Raleigh's water supply -- to keep the Neuse healthy. A significant new withdrawal downstream of Falls Lake could require greater releases from the reservoir, speeding its depletion, government officials say.

But the state hasn't said yet whether it would allow it.

"It looks like a microcosm of all our water issues," says John Morris, director of the state's Division of Water Resources. "There are many moving parts."

And not enough to go around.

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