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Water Supply
Wake County's water supplies face significant challenges from population growth, development, loss of open space and climate change. Unless we move forward with comprehensive steps that foster long-term and integrated planning, poor growth management will burden taxpayers and degrade Wake County's wonderful quality of life. Plentiful, clean water is among the assets that will help keep Wake County healthy and competitive for our children's future. WakeUP advocates for long-term water supply planning, year-round water conservation measures, and a fair way to pay for the high costs of future infrastructure needed for water supply and water and wastewater treatment. New development and those moving here should pay their fair share for these infrastructure expenses.
WHERE OUR WATER COMES FROM:
The majority of Wake County residents get their water from Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, which were created for flood control, wildlife habitat, recreation, and water supply. Man-made reservoirs like these rely largely on local rainfall to maintain adequate lake levels for municipal water supply, and to provide sufficient river flows downstream. Residents in Wake County that are not connected to municipal water systems must use wells to access groundwater. About 93,000 residents in Wake County obtain water from wells, which are permitted and inspected by the Wake County Department of Environmental Services. Like the Falls and Jordan reservoirs, wells are also recharged by local rainfall. However, due to the geography and geology of the piedmont region, even with good average rainfall we have low water resilience – the water does not last because of small streams, permeable soils, and little storage capacity. If changing weather patterns (due to global climate change or natural circumstances) reduce area rainfall the problem will be exacerbated, and inadequate water supplies could have serious impacts on Wake County and the surrounding area, especially as the region’s population grows.
- Read more about Falls Lake
- Read more about Jordan Lake
- Read more about the Little River River Reservoir Project
STORMWATER:
In addition to water quantity, water quality is a significant concern for Wake County’s water supply. Stormwater contamination from automobile fluids (such as oil, gasoline, and antifreeze), pesticides, fertilizers, sediment, pet waste, and litter, as well as point source discharges from sewage treatment plants and industry, pollutes our local water supplies. The situation is getting worse as development in the watersheds increases the amount of urban, road, and agricultural runoff into streams feeding the reservoirs. Polluted water is more costly to treat for drinking, as it requires increasing amounts of chemicals to make the water potable. Wastewater discharges and contaminated stormwater runoff have resulted in both Falls Lake and Jordan Lake being added to North Carolina's list of impaired waters.
