Wake County is growing so fast that every year, the population increases by roughly 25,000 people – which breaks down to about 60 new residents per day.
With more people moving to the area, there will be more demand for resources, especially water. Raleigh alone provides about 52 million gallons of clean drinking water to households every day. That's enough to fill nearly 79 Olympic sized swimming pools. In addition, all the new development that comes with a rapid increase of parking lots, roads, and other impervious surfaces that can funnel water into channels and cause flash floods.
Anticipating the county's population to double by 2070, Wake County officials have released a 50-year "One Water" plan to work more collaboratively with municipalities, utilities, residents and other local stakeholders to conserve water supplies, prepare for water shortages, address pollution and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
"We know the Triangle's a great place to live," said Nancy Daly, watershed management program manager for Wake County. We want to make sure we have the water we need to support (residents) and we don't want to wait for a crisis."
A handful of cities across the country, such as Tucson, Arizona, and Austin, Texas, have also developed similar One Water plans, but Wake County is among the first in the southeastern U.S. County officials spent three years and $1.3 million in America's Rescue Plan Act funds to develop the strategy. It's using a holistic approach to managing water resources, instead of treating each water-related issue as its own silo, Daly said.
"So we think about drinking water, separate from wastewater, separate from stormwater," she said. "In reality, it's all connected. When we think of managing our water resources, we really need to be thinking about all forms of water."
Daly said a top priority is increasing water supply to support the demand of a growing population. Currently, the city of Raleigh sources most of its water from Falls Lake, while Cary, Morrisville, and Apex draw their supply from Jordan Lake. Since surrounding counties also share these reservoirs, Daly noted that the Triangle Water Supply Partnership, which includes Wake, Durham, Chatham, Harnett and Johnston counties, is also developing a 50-year water plan.
The county's plan also emphasizes the need to protect water quality, particularly groundwater, which about 15% of Wake residents depend on for drinking water. While groundwater is typically cleaner than surface water, it can be susceptible to contamination from the bedrock and stormwater runoff. The plan notes that eastern Wake County's bedrock contains naturally occurring uranium and other radionuclides that can contaminate water, and that an estimated one in five private well owners have unsafe levels of contamination. Owners of private wells or water systems are not required to test their water, but county officials plan to conduct outreach to encourage them to use testing services.
The 107-page document contains a long list of various actions officials plan to take, including studying greywater reuse, land conservation, developing a multi-jurisdiction flood gauge data platform, and using alternative landscaping and applying compost on residential land to improve soil health. Public education and outreach will be a major part of executing the plan, Daly said.
"Incorporating barrels, putting a rain garden in the yard, composting, which you may not immediately think of as a water quality practice – these are all things that can make a difference with (improving) groundwater," she said.
The plan also notes that there will be guidance created regarding potential data centers that could be built in the area. Developer Natelli Investments is currently looking to build a data center near Apex, which has sparked opposition from nearby residents.
"Data centers wasn't even on the radar when we started this plan a few years ago," Daly said. "They're gaining traction across the country. We know Apex is considering a proposal now, but there's been some interest with other municipalities too. We all want to be on the same page and be as informed as we can be in asking the right questions, so that when a proposal does come to us, we have some standards and guidelines we can look to."
