CARY - Forging a permanent culture of water conservation and tying more local water systems together will help the Triangle sustain growth and survive future droughts, speakers at a local water conference said Tuesday.

The drought of 2007 is different from the one in 2002, they said, because this time all state and local governments realize how vulnerable their water systems are.

"Conserve, conserve, conserve," said Ed Kerwin, executive director of the Orange Water And Sewer Authority. "It saves money, it saves energy. It saves across the board -- without disrupting our customers' quality of life."

Public water use probably will remain lower after the drought than it was before, several speakers said. They were among a dozen government officials who spoke at a "community success forum" sponsored by several Triangle chambers of commerce.

Several speakers said Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and OWASA should accelerate plans to tie together their water systems.

Interconnections could prove vital in time of drought, a terrorist attack or accidental contamination of one city's system.

"You hate to think about it, but we have to prepare for it," Kerwin said. "Looking to the future, interconnections will be essential. We need to protect our resources. And when we grow, we need to grow in a smart, sustainable way."

Several speakers said rapid growth isn't the problem. Water use per person is falling, they said. And each community has plans to expand its water supplies.

Recycling wastewater

On the distant horizon: recycling highly treated wastewater back into water-supply reservoirs.

In that respect -- as with highway congestion and school crowding -- the Triangle might follow metro Atlanta's lead.

Wayne Hill, former longtime commissioners' chairman in suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett County, explained how Gwinnett is building an effluent pipeline to Lake Lanier, its water source.

You can't tell the difference between the highly treated effluent and drinking water, he said.

He urged broad cooperation.

"We take it for granted that we're going to have water forever," Hill said. "We as elected officials for too long have not planned far enough out. We plan for our terms, or for 10 years. We need to plan for 100 years, or 200."

Dale Crisp, Raleigh's public utilities director, said the Capital City will be positioned someday to return highly treated wastewater back to Falls Lake, the city's source of drinking water.

Raleigh is building a network of pipes to carry effluent from its sewage treatment plant on the Neuse River back into the city, he noted. And he said Wake Forest's Smith Creek sewage treatment plant, several miles down the Neuse River from Falls Lake's dam, is ideally situated to pipe effluent back to the lake.

"At some point we're going to have to face that in North Carolina," Crisp said. "I think with enough time and technology, communities in North Carolina will do that -- and Raleigh probably will be one of the leaders."

Falls Lake already absorbs treated wastewater from upstream, including Durham's.

Ending irrigation

Long-term, forum speakers said, irrigating lawns with drinking water must be phased out.

In Raleigh, summertime irrigation can consume up to 20 million gallons a day -- almost equal to Cary's total consumption.

"We need to start thinking more about not putting drinking water on lawns," said Robin Smith, assistant secretary for environment at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Crisp agreed. "It has become almost standard to have a deck on your house, a two-car garage, and an in-ground irrigation system," he said. "We've got to do something about that. That is one of the things that we've learned out of this drought."

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