I was wondering when two local water issues were going to intertwine. Today’s the day.
Today’s N&R reports on the effectiveness of the Haw River dam station Greensboro purchased five years ago. The station has been pumping roughly 65 million gallons of water a day to drought-stricken Lake Townsend, but pumping more than likely will shut off today because the river is expected to drop below 14 million gallon per day level required to flow over the dam.
As I read the article, I was wondering if the controversial Patriot’s Landing development would come up. Sure enough, it did:
Meanwhile, the city’s use of the Haw could figure in a prominent rezoning case pending before the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.
Florida-based developer Bluegreen Corp. hopes to build a gated, golf course community upstream from the city’s dam, near Haw River State Park. Bluegreen plans to pull water from the Haw for several years, to irrigate its new fairways and greens.
If the case comes to a hearing before the board as scheduled next month, the Haw’s role as Greensboro’s safety valve likely will be mentioned by project opponents, said David Craft of Citizens for Haw River State Park, a nonprofit group opposing the Bluegreen project.
“It wouldn’t be a huge withdrawal. But it’s one they could make at anytime, even in the midst of a drought,” Craft said.
Help me out if I’m missing it, but I read that as the major development opponent admitting that Bluegreen’s proposed 100,000 gallons per-day withdrawal is not a huge withdrawal. And it’s not, compared to the roughly 10 million gallons per day Greensboro’s been drawing over the last week.
I realize the argument is Greensboro’s pumping water for its municipal supply, while Bluegreen will be pumping water for its golf course. Not exactly the same thing. But Guilford County commissioners will be looking at the numbers, and they’ll take them into serious consideration. My guess is they won’t think 100k-gallons per day will be that much, either. That’s where the agreement with Haw River supporters ends.
