Candidates for governor were asked questions Tuesday about water and drought at a forum at Duke University. The questions touched on the legal, economic, environmental and political aspects of the state's water supply and the continuing drought. Two Democrats, one Republican and a Libertarian took the stage one at a time to face questions from a moderator. Here are some highlights:

"What is your perspective on the current drought? What will you do to plan for and to respond to future droughts? How should the state, local governments and the private sector work together during droughts? Should the state play a role in interconnecting drinking water systems?"

STATE TREASURER RICHARD MOORE, DEMOCRAT

Moore said he has proven his ability to handle and prepare for emergencies through his record as head of the state's Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. The state got a wake-up call with Hurricane Fran, Moore said, and he helped the state get ready for future storms.

"By the time Hurricane Floyd hit us, we were much more ready," Moore said.

LT. GOV. BEVERLY PERDUE, DEMOCRAT

Perdue said she would want to establish a sales tax holiday on water-efficient appliances such as washing machines to encourage more people to buy them. Perdue also said she would want to make water bills more transparent so that customers can easily see how much water they are using and whether they are cutting back.

BOB ORR, REPUBLICAN, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE

"The biggest failure of the current administration was there was no ... real planning to deal with an upcoming drought. We are going to get incredible growth ... With the pressures we're going to be experiencing, we have to make sure that quality of life is sustained for a very long time."

BILL GRAHAM, REPUBLICAN, lawyer, Salisbury (did not attend the forum but answered questions via e-mail)

"We need to continue to find ways to conserve water. One is to use reclaimed water for irrigation purposes."

CHARLOTTE MAYOR PAT McCRORY, REPUBLICAN (did not attend the forum but answered questions via e-mail)

"Our municipal water and sewer infrastructures need significant repairs as well as upgrades in capacity. Many of our cities and counties are not going to be able to afford the additional financial burdens such repairs might create. The General Assembly might have to consider an omnibus type bond issue to help upgrade and pay for new infrastructure. ... The state can play a huge role in bring[ing] all the stakeholders to the same table and assembling a game plan that deals with future water resource realities on a statewide basis rather than every water system trying to deal with the situation individually."

Moore, Perdue trade barbs

Moore took a shot at Perdue from the forum stage.

In his closing statement, Moore, who has criticized Perdue's refusal to debate more, said that voters deserve to hear both candidates debate and that he was disappointed the water forum organizers chose to change the event format so the Democrats wouldn't appear on stage together.

The event was never intended to be a debate but a forum where candidates could talk water policy with a moderator, organizers said. The organizers decided to have candidates appear one at a time for logistical reasons.

Perdue said Tuesday that she and Moore have participated in four televised debates and have an online debate scheduled for next week.

"I continue to wonder what the treasurer is whining about," she said.

Moore: Disincentive an obstacle

Moore said water systems have a financial incentive not to conserve too much.

Sales -- the water customers pay for -- keep water systems running and that means systems such as Raleigh can't afford to let customers save too much water.

"We are going to have to develop ways to allow providers to decouple revenue from sales volume," Moore said.

To Orr, rights are all right

The candidates were asked to weigh in on "riparian rights," which allows land owners reasonable use of the water supplies on their land. It was a tough technical question.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a Republican that isn't for property rights. Yeah. I'm for property rights. Trust me," Orr said.