Asheville currently owns 22,000 acres of pristine watershed, much of which is protected by a conservation easement. Some dufusi like me had supposed that the land and water were off-limits for any kind of human activity, and that anybody found approaching the waterworks at the reservoir without authorization from the city was as good as a terrorist.

Representative Tim Moffitt says the existing conservation agreement is not sufficiently strict in its language to prevent economic development activities. For example, portions of “The Hunger Games” were filmed up there. In a twist to the ongoing water spat, people are now concerned about a change in ownership compromising water quality with human land- and water-disturbing activities. The third meeting of Moffitt’s study committee should address the topic tomorrow.