The Future

Fresh Water

If one looks at the map of North Carolina, one sees a striking feature: the large area of surface water in lakes, in seventeen river basins and in artificial reservoirs (about 10% of the surface area of the State). We are further blessed with considerable underground water resources.

However, the increasing population, which by 2030 will create an additional 30% demand for water, will mean that in many areas water will become the limiting factor on development. The price of moving water around and keeping it clean will encourage extensive measures for water conservation, both for domestic and industrial use. New and efficient systems to recycle water (so-called “gray water”) for purposes other than human consumption will emerge more widely. Fewer people will be on well water and we will have a better understanding of the hydrology of subterranean water, so enabling better management of those resources for those that remain dependent on underground water supply. The control of “runoff” from development and agriculture will be more comprehensively monitored, resulting in clean outflow to our estuaries and open ocean. In some coastal areas there will be an increase in the use of desalination plants for freshwater generation. However, because of the high cost of energy to run these, water conservation measures will be much stronger on the coast than they are today.