State places Boone in Tier I crisis water mode despite recent rain
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

Boone always seems to make some sort of list.

Be it one of the best places to retire or one of National Geographic’s best tourist destinations.

However, the town’s most recent mention is something of a drier nature. The Associated Press reported that Boone’s water system is one of 17 statewide “nearing a crisis” due to the recent drought.

Blowing Rock, Spruce Pine, Raleigh and Durham also made the list, and a report released by the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) says such systems would have water for less than 100 days under last week’s conditions.

Because of last week’s rain and the methodology used to construct the list, Boone Public Utilities director Rick Miller is not terribly worried.

“What happened is that the state of North Carolina has classified the water systems under a new tier system,” he explained. “Boone has been placed in a Tier 1 category, reserved for municipalities that are below 100 days’ supply.”

The categories were devised by the DMAC, and council chairman Woody Yonts offered a tier-to-tier breakdown.

Tier 1 is reserved for systems considered in crisis mode, those with less than 100 days of present supply remaining, or those likely to be in a crisis if dry conditions persist, due to a lack of interconnections or emergency supply.

Tier 2 systems are not in crisis but could be within a matter of months, and Tier 3 systems are not yet vulnerable but could be as the drought persists.

Miller said Boone was placed in Tier 1, first and foremost, because the town is a run-of-the-river intake, meaning water is pulled directly from the stream (Winkler’s Creek and the South Fork of the New River).

“And there’s no official or practical way we can test that we’re aware of to tell the state there will be water in the stream,” Miller said. “So, the No. 1reason we’re in that tier is because we’re a run of the river intake.”

Other factors contribute, such as that the reservoir at Winkler’s Creek, which holds an estimated 60 million gallon capacity, is not taken into account by the state, since it is not directly connected to the water plant.

Size matters
The size of Boone’s drainage basin also plays a part. Though Miller could not recall its precise size, the basin is smaller than the Cape Fear basin, which is further down stream. When it rains, the water flows into streams in that particular basin, rather than Boone’s.

“A larger drainage basin would have helped, but we’re not in control of that,” Miller added.

Also, the town has no interconnections with other entities to serve as back-up supplies, though an interconnection with Appalachian State University is pending.

“But it’s not in place, so we got put into Tier 1,” Miller said. “All these things played into it. And I think the report caused some confusion. It’s not saying the town of Boone does not have 100 days of water. There are circumstances in place that we can’t verify to them that we do have 100 days.”

Despite a generous amount of rain last week, the subsequent rising of the streams will not play into the decision of the tier ranking, Miller said.

The town remains in the Stage I Water Shortage Condition, which encourages voluntary water conservation.
To proceed to Stage II, which requires mandatory compliance, the town would first have to leap an obstacle in the ordinance.

A portion of the ordinance says water tanks must be at 10-foot or less capacity in the system before Stage II can be declared.

Miller said he would rather be safer than sorry, and he’ll recommend to the Boone Water Study Committee that the ordinance be amended to allow a Stage II declaration before the level sinks so low. He spoke with regulatory agencies of other municipalities, including Hickory and Durham, “who feel we may be on the right track,” he said.

Stage II conditions would affect area business, specifically car washes, which would be required to shut down until conditions improved.

“Right now, I wouldn’t consider Stage II,” Miller said. “A couple weeks ago, maybe, but with the rain we’ve had, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that at this time. Removing the storage tank requirement would allow us, if we felt our water levels were way too low, to declare a Stage II without waiting for that requirement.”

The water committee meets Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. in the Boone Town Council chambers.

In the meantime, Miller will send a report to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The town has been sending such reports monthly, but drought conditions have spurred the state to require weekly reports.

Gov. Mike Easley has also called on citizens to cut their water consumption by half by Halloween.

“Whenever you use water, cut the amount by half, whether it is taking a shower or washing the dishes,” Easley said in a press release. “We all need to know whether this will be extremely difficult or easily do-able, but we do need to establish a baseline of water use to determine which water conservation measures are most effective. We likely will spot important trends and pick up valuable conservation methods that communities can share.”

For information on local conservation recommendations, call Boone Public Utilities at (828) 266-1183 or visit www.townofboone.net/departments/pu/water/index.html on the Web.