News
Regional Perspective of Water Resource Issues
- Details
- Published: 25 May 2015 25 May 2015
Speaking at the RLUAC quarterly meeting held on February 19th, Jim Perry, the Special Projects Planner for Lumber River Council of Government, stated that there is an “impending disaster” if steps aren’t taken to improve local water systems in the Fort Bragg region. Although referring specifically to the condition of many local water treatment plants, he also addressed concerns with the overuse of the groundwater aquifers and quality and availability of surface water as a result of inter-basin transfer proposals by the City of Cary.
The surface water issues that he discussed included the potential threat to the Fort Bragg Region with the proposed inter-basin water transfer from the Cape Fear River Basin to the Neuse River Basin. He explained that a recently prepared “hydraulic model” for the Cape Fear River showed that the permitted water out-take already exceeds the river’s capacity. He said that the day is coming soon when limits will have to be placed on municipal, county and industrial outtake. Concerning inter-basin water transfer, Jim said that there is a NC law that requires local governments to return the treated waste water back into the original river basin from which it was taken. Efforts to change or amend this law should be opposed.
The ground water issues emanate from the fact that most water users within the Cape Fear River Basin rely upon ground water – tapping into the aquifers. He explained that aquifers are not underground rivers, but are layers of water contained between geological layers of different materials. Within our region there are between four and five layers that are contained between clay. Our major aquifer waters slowly flow from the northwest to the southeast. Water contained within the aquifers are thousands of years old and very pure. When the extraction of water from the aquifers is done to excess “cones of depression” occur (as in the case of Smithfield Farms hog processing plant in Bladen County) leading to the potential for salt water intrusion from the ocean and subsidence of the land. These issues, compounded by the fact that it takes a very long time for the aquifers to recharge, leads to the real threat that the aquifers in our region can be permanently destroyed. Proposed fracking in the Lee, Johnson, and Moore County areas up-flow from our region, poses another real potential danger for the aquifers. Unfortunately, there is no way to decontaminate ground water once it becomes polluted.
Concerning water supply, Jim reported that many of the small town water treatment plants within the region are becoming very dated and are on the verge of collapse. He said that for too long water customers have been paying too little for the water they consume – resulting in little or no revenue reserves to upgrade the existing plants or build new ones. And, grant money that used to be available from the federal government has largely dried up. To remedy this situation taxpayers are going to have to foot a major cost – and the bill in coming due very soon. If not addressed, we will have a major water crisis.
He completed his remarks by observing that North Carolina is a water rich state. However, he warned that our water resource can be rapidly depleted if we do not quickly change our wasteful and destructive ways.
New Officers Elected to Lead RLUAC
- Details
- Published: 22 February 2015 22 February 2015
At the most recent quarterly meeting of RLUAC held on Thursday, November 20, Robert McLaughlin was elected Chairman, John K. McNeill Vice-Chair and Mark Locklear Secretary. They will serve a two-year term that expires in November 2016.
McLaughlin is a member of the Wagram Town Board and has been its RLUAC Voting Member for several years. McLaughlin has served as the RLUAC Vice-Chair for the past four years.
McNeill is the Mayor of the City of Raeford and has been its RLUAC Voting Member for the past two years.
Locklear is the Harnett County Planning Director and has been its RLUAC Voting Member for the past several years.
Fort Bragg Likely Safe from Deep Cuts in Personnel
- Details
- Published: 25 November 2014 25 November 2014
At the RLUAC quarterly meeting conducted on August 21st Mr. Roger Vickers, Fort Bragg’s Army Stationing and Installation Plan Manager, explained that the Army Stationing and Installation Plan (ASIP) is the official Department of the Army database that reflects the authorized planning population for installations. The ASIP provides installation population authorizations to all Office of the Chief of Staff for Installation Management (OACSIM) systems and is the basis for developing Base Operators Services (BOS) and Military Construction Requirements (MILCON) at Fort Bragg. The ASIP is the Common Operating Picture (COP) for the installation population projections for Army / Fort Bragg planning. The ASIP provides a consistent look at forces to be supported by Fort Bragg, visibility to potential planning issues, an audit trail to Army Force planning and documentation, and a feedback loop to help correct Force Structure Discrepancies through the AR 5-10 process. The ASIP is used by the OACSIM, the Installation Management Command (IMCOM), the Army Commands (ACOM), the Total Army Basing Study (TAA/BRAC), Reserve Components (USAR and ARNG), Department of Defense (DOD), Army Secretariat/Army Audit Agency (USAAA), the General Accounting Office (GAO), and the Fort Bragg ASIP editor.
Vickers explained that according to the information contained in the ASIP, the Fort Bragg population is projected to contract from a FY 13 high population of 153,500 to a low of 145,519 through the years FY 14 through FY 20. However mitigating factors that may further reduce the projected decreases are the anticipated increases in the number of Special Forces training students at the fort and the desire of many Army units (stationed elsewhere) to relocate to Fort Bragg. The outtake is that Fort Bragg is likely safe from deep cuts in military and civilian personnel through the year 2020.