The Future of Water in North Carolina: Strategies for Sustaining Clean and Abundant Water - Pre-conference Report

Author(s): Eben Polk, Leslie Kleczek, Lydia Olander, Bill Holman

Published: March 2007

download: report (.pdf) >

Clean and healthy water resources in North Carolina and the Southeast states provide much of what we all enjoy - lush green forests, rich farmlands, running creeks and rivers with fish, turtles, and frogs, and estuaries among the most productive in the world. The waters upon which North Carolinians depend are abundant—so much so that in the past we have drained waterrich places to promote agriculture and development. But our water resources are also undervalued and under pressure. As the state’s population grows and our forests and farmland make way for development, clean water may become a much more valued commodity. Though we are already observing conflict over water allocation, and constraints on supply at the coast and during droughts, water quality is likely to be a widespread problem before we face widespread
limitations in water quantity.