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The American West has seen a lot of
water wars, and one may be beginning in
Wake Forest, pitting the town board
against developers.
Simply put, the town has
only limited water until the spring of
2010 under the merger contract with
Raleigh. To extend that water the full
four years, the board set a goal of no
more than 800 residential building
permits each year, beginning this year.
To reach that goal, the comprehensive
planning committee this week agreed to
recommend all the existing water
allocation agreements be cut to 60
percent. Those with normal allocations
of 50 building permits a year would have
30; those with larger allocations would
be cut at the same ratio.
On the other hand, those
developers and builders who have the
allocations have borrowed money, graded
land, hired consultants, engineers and
carpenters to build 50 houses or 100
this year, thinking they were secure in
the agreements. They are faced with the
possibility of making only 60 percent of
the money they had planned for.
The recommendation also does
not address future plans, and here we
could mention the 120 townhouses Craig
Briner wants to build near the Wake
Forest Plaza or a large development plan
for the remaining portion of the Holding
farm.
We can expect a run on the
planning department for building permits
that will make the Oklahoma Sooners look
like they were lally-gagging.
We can expect a lot of
behind-the-scenes maneuvering and some
public protest by builders and
development groups.
Now as someone who would
like to see growth slowed and planned
more carefully, as someone who has
followed – and reported – the coming
crunch, I wish the town staff had more
carefully explained to the town board
last year during the merger negotiations
just how many houses the 4.9 million
gallons a day, and I apologize to
Commissioner Stephen Barrington for
snickering when he suggested buying an
additional 3 million gallons a day
instead of the 1 million the board
settled on. (The $3 million for the 1
mgd of water is included in the $19
million cost Wake Forest rate payers
have to pay off for the merger.)
I do not think anyone could
have anticipated this summer’s drought,
but it would have been much better for
the town if mandatory water restrictions
went into effect sooner. Irrigation
systems to keep lawns green certainly
added to the unusually high peak use in
August.
Having said all that, it is
time to find a solution. Both the town
and the builders/developers have right
and truth and need on their side.
The obvious solution is to
get more water for the next four years.
At $3 a gallon, $3 million for 1 million
gallons, it is not exactly a bargain but
it is better than losing profits for
four years or not being able to get
building permits in two. Conservation,
finding other sources for irrigation,
and other measures are not going to fill
the water shortfall.
I suggest the builders pass
the hat to either buy the water
themselves or help the town to do so. If
there is another solution, I would be
happy to hear it. |
