Very hard granite under the Neuse River is all that stands in the way of increased water pressure for many people who live on the north side of Wake Forest.
          For close to a year a contractor has been attempting to bore a hole large enough to hold a 24-inch pipeline, part of the line running from Raleigh’s E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant along Falls of the Neuse Road to the one-million-gallon elevated water storage tank near Old N.C. 98.
          “The bore is not yet complete to the size necessary to accommodate a 24-inch pipeline as originally contracted by the city,” Raleigh Public Utilities Director Dale Crisp wrote in an e-mail response to a question. “Currently the bore hole size across the river can only accommodate a 12-inch water main. We are insisting the contractor complete the bore to the original size or certainly a size large enough to accommodate a 16-inch main.
          “Water is flowing to the new tank and the tank has been in service since it was completed two years ago,” Crisp continued. “The new water main is needed in order to accommodate the additional demand once we switch the pressure zone in northern part of the Wake Forest service area to this tank’s elevation zone and future growth in the Wakefield area. Yes, once we make the switch, the pressure will increase by 35 psi in the northern Wake Forest service area.”
          The Town of Wake Forest was planning to build an elevated water tank near the Raleigh tank, but that project was eliminated when the town merged its water and sewer systems with Raleigh’s in 2005. Crisp said planning for the Raleigh tank was already underway in 2005 to serve the growth in Wakefield and along Falls of the Neuse Road.