How the water works
This is the way the water works here in the Town of Columbus and, truly, at this time in much of the county.
We use groundwater. Amen. Nothing else is coming our way for several years at least. No river or reservoir. Perhaps eventually we may have the Green River or Lake Adger but right now it’s just the water coming from the ground.
That puts us in a position where we have to be sure that the groundwater is “recharged”
What does recharge mean?
Water is drawn out by people or bubbles up sometimes reaching rivers and streams and returns to the earth via the rainfall, percolating down into the soil and then bubbling up again and being pulled once more to the surface by wells pumping for human consumption.
The forest and undisturbed land is the most efficient percolator. When water from rain falls in the undisturbed forest 62% of it goes back and becomes groundwater. On a farm it is only 3% and on a compacted lawn only 1%. In time of drought the recharge is obviously greatly diminished.
Luck has it that Columbus lies at the base of some beautiful mountains and a great deal of undisturbed forest that has built up a reservoir of underground water for us over milleniums. And the forest has continued recharge the groundwater.
The relatively small population has not depleted the groundwater we depend on . . . yet. The operative word is "yet".. A few years ago a Columbus municipal well did go dry and everyone was quite worried; but the town bought property and drilled wells on a few of the properties and luckily after a few duds it hit a bold well. Crisis temporarily averted.
Now we are facing a time of great expansion and we must be mindful. Mindful that we have doubled the land we are responsible for and will be adding significantly to the population. Mindful that this is a time of extreme drought, mindful that the best scientific studies done over the last 20 years, by hydro geologists in North Carolina, in our Mountains and Piedmont say that there is a limit to the density of any area like ours. Density beyond which the groundwater does NOT recharge. Scientists give us numbers like 2.63, 2.74 and 3 acres per dwelling on hills less that slope less than15% and 10 acres on steep terrain. Not just anywhere, but here in the mountains of North Carolina.
I don’t necessarily like those numbers, it might be fine to have more density in town all other things being equal BUT what do we do when the wells run dry. Where is our sense of responsibility? Does having greater population help us with the economy? Some say yes. BUT what do we do if the wells go dry. Do we have a contingency plan? Will we get water from Lake Adger or Green River or maybe the neighboring counties? How fast? What do we tell the customers of the Columbus Water Utility in the township, in Tryon estates?
I don’t think the people of Columbus realize what has happened. The county has put in restrictions; if a new subdivision comes in they have to abide by a 7-acre per dwelling density limitation. Here in the town we proposed an amendment based on the work of scientists. Limiting density to 3 acres per dwelling, not 7. We offered flexibility to the new developer if it uses water from the sources other than the groundwater. This proposal applied only to new, large subdivisions.
The new development on the side of White Oak Mountain, Fosters Creek Preserve, will be in undisturbed forest, the same undisturbed forest that has been helping to recharge the groundwater where we get our drinking water. This water also feeds our streams and the Horse Creek. We need that recharge to allow us to continue. Without it- I ask again-what do we do when the well runs dry?
