Boone water use increases slightly
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com
Condition: wet.
The Boone Town Council received its monthly water use status report, indicating there are 16,222 gallons per day remaining for allotment in 2007.
Ordinance 05-01, which was enacted in early 2005 to manage the town’s limited water resources until an additional source could be found, allows six yearly increments of 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) for allocations that can be distributed to applicants meeting certain criteria.
If two-thirds of the yearly allocation is reached prior to year’s end, all requests for service must come before the town council. In 2005, the estimated water available was 150,000 gallons per day, and the six-year plan accounted for 2004, as well.
The town’s raw water and treatment plant is permitted to pump 3 million gallons per day (mgd). The plant currently treats between 1.933 mgd, the equivalent of approximately 65 percent of its capacity, and the town is only permitted by state to treat 3 mgd.
From left, Boone town council member Rennie Brantz pours a glass of water for town attorney Sam Furgiuele at last Thursday’s regular meeting of the Boone Town Council. A letter to the editor noted that even though council members consistently promote zero waste, they regularly use bottled water at their meetings. Since actions sometimes speak louder than words, Brantz brought pitchers of Boone municipal water and glasses for council members to enjoy, while setting an environmentally sound precedent. Photo by Frank Ruggiero |
When a plant reaches 80 percent capacity, the state dictates the municipality should be planning to expand the plant or build a new facility. When a plant reaches 90 percent capacity, the state expects the municipality to already have construction underway. If not, the state could impose a water moratorium.
As such, the town is seeking to boost its capacity by 4 mgd to meet the needs of the town in 2030.
Rick Miller, director of Boone Public Utilities, delivered his report to the council at its Thursday, July 19, regular meeting. Covering the month of June, Miller said the water treatment plant recorded a maximum daily demand of 1.933 mg on Tuesday, June 19, a slight decrease from the previous year. The average daily demand for the entire month was 1.765 mg, showing a slight increase from the previous year, he said.
Out of the 25,000 gpd originally allotted for 2007, the town has 16,222 gpd remaining. Miller noted that the council chose to allocate 4,800 from the 2007 allotment and add an additional 6,788 gpd carried over from 2006 to result in a balance of 25,943 gpd available for allocation.
The council also allocated water from 2008’s budget to two projects. The first is the new Watauga High School, for which the county was granted three allocations of 4,800 gpd from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 allotments. The second allocation, which entailed two allocations of 4,209 gpd from 2007 and 2008, went to Jamus FLP for a new hotel on N.C. 105.
Public utilities approved a project by Jeff Templeton Rentals for 490 gpd from the 2007 allotment, resulting in a remaining total of 16,222 gpd for 2007 and 15,991 gpd for 2008.
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