Readers sound off about water

Readers sound off about a column on lack of water planning:
Jack:
I recently displayed our Mirage water makers and Vortex water treatment units at the Atlanta and Charlotte Home Shows.
Most attendees did not even recognize that there was a drought. Many did not believe that the Mirage unit was capturing clean drinking water from the humidity in the air. Some folks even asked why we would bother to do that.
Many folks tasted the water and admitted it tasted different without chemicals, iron and sulfur in it.
We gave out 30 gallons in samples made right at the show from a unit making 20 gallons a day.
If the political leaders are not interested in investigating alternative sources of a re-useable resource then why should the taxpayers.
Jackson County is about to spend $750,000 to install a pipeline to bring water to a few homes in Sylva, NC that have a benzene contaminated well. I offered to put in place a Vortex system at no charge to test its efficiency in removing the Benzene. If it works the cost would save the State taxpayers 90% of that cost.
NO ONE was interested enough to even look at it. The Vortex uses no chemicals(salt) or filters and has virtually no maintenance. The Greeks used it successfully 2000 years ago
We have hundreds of such systems in place for more than 7 years in Homes, ranches and farms in Texas providing drinking water to even entire communities but North Carolinians would rather wait for the Government to solve the problem with higher costs and less water.
Please check out our Web site at miragewatermaker@sbcglobal.net.
Thank you,
John Battaglia/CEO/MVM Mftr, Inc.
Southport NC
From Dave Moreau, author of the 1993 report recommended conservation, among other strategies:
Jack:
Thanks for remembering the report. I would be happy to talk to you
about the present state of preparedness for managing droughts and
long-term conservation. Our cities have done a good job of reducing water use by eliminating outdoor use, but they have had only modest success in reducing indoor use. Our experience is about the same as in California, the Northeast and other areas that have experienced prolonged droughts. A major challenge faces cities from Raleigh to Charlotte if we don’t get relief soon. Neither these cities nor the State of North Carolina are well prepared to manage the situation if they have to reduce use by more than 20 percent. Action is needed now to get better prepared for just such a situation. We hope no city has to go there, but they should be prepared to do so if necessary.
Sincerely,
Dave
From a reader in Raleigh:
Great piece in today’s N&O "Other Opinion" page 9A. Please forward an autographed copy to Charles “What Me Worry?" Meeker. It’s early, so my guess is that he’s still in bed with the developers. Perhaps this would wake him up along with his coffee this morning....
Jon Gibson

From Chapel Hill:

Dr. Dan Okun, who recently passed away, was a professor and colleague of mine from the UNC School of Public Health. He was not only a visionary but an advocate of dual water supplies. Many areas of the US do not have the fresh water resources of NC and many also have higher population densities, such as Florida. However, they do not have the type of shortages we have simply because they have a reuse system that insures an adequate potable water supply.
NC actually has rules and regulations that are impediments to this very easy solution to our water supply problems. Legislation to encourage new developments to include the infrastructure for this system is straight forward.
I am a developer in North Chatham County and every development I work with tries to implement this strategy. In addition, this methodology has the advantage of also helping to solve wastewater and potable water quality problems that affect many areas of our State.
Please contact me if you are interested in helping with initiatives I have been working on to implement appropriate legislation and publicize information on dual water supplies.
http://www.sph.unc.edu/school_of_public_health_news/okun_remembered_for_pioneering_work_in_water_engineering_6490_1957.html
M. Travis Blake
Blake & Associates, Inc.
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
From an NC reader:
I am very concerned about the drought and read most articles about it. It seems all I ever read is ‘gloom and doom’ as well as ‘finger pointing’ as to why but I never read about long term solutions??
One idea I have is never mentioned – “Tap into the ever-rising oceans, build a desalinization plant in Eastern NC and pipe water across the whole state into Tennessee.
This would service river basins feeding NC, SC, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
All SE states can share in the cost.
Pipline can be built to best service neediest area and possibly solve the drought problem forever.
Am I far off base? I’ve seen small Caribbean islands with this process as their only solution to drinking water.
If this idea is improbable then I’d like to read more of what is anyone doing to solve the problem.