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Bayleaf water users on notice: Aqua North Carolina imposes mandatory restrictions on North Raleigh customers(News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Aug. 21--For two months, Aqua North Carolina asked nicely for people to conserve water. Nice didn't work, and after months of drought, the water utility will start turning off the taps for those who won't cut back. Last week, the N.C. Utilities Commission allowed Aqua to impose mandatory restrictions on the 3,800 customers on the Bayleaf Master System in North Raleigh. The network of community wells and water towers is the largest private water network in Wake County and has been plagued since May by low pressure and customer complaints. Over the Memorial Day weekend, lawn watering ran down Bayleaf's reserves, leaving some customers with low water pressure, Aqua officials said. Those problems have persisted. The restrictions are aimed at reducing consumption from in-ground watering systems, said Tom Roberts, vice president of Aqua North Carolina. "We will warn them," Roberts said. "Depending on where we're at, we'll proceed [to shut off their water]." Under the plan, homes can water only twice a week late at night. Unlike municipal water supplies, private utility companies must ask the N.C. Utilities Commission for permission to impose restrictions. Aqua can't levy fines on violators, but it can issue warnings and then ask the commission to shut off the customer's water. For some Bayleaf customers, the restrictions are welcome. The largest stress on the system comes in the mornings when people are getting ready for work. Nancy Simpson is mourning the death of her azaleas as million-dollar homes with pools and bright green lawns spring up in her Bayleaf neighborhood. "I've got no pool and no watering system. I'm watering with a watering can," she said. Even though she conserves her supply, she said she has problems with water pressure. "I will get up for a 5-minute shower. It's like somebody is spitting at me," Simpson said. Gail Cash, co-owner of Taylor's BP, a gas station and convenience store on Six Forks Road, said Monday morning's water pressure was the best in months. Before the restrictions, Taylor's was a virtual switchboard for neighborhood complaints about Aqua. "It's amazing how many people couldn't shower," Cash said. Some customers had to drive to their gyms and shower there before going to work, she said. Bayleaf needs a private water system because Raleigh decided in the 1980s never to extend water and sewer lines north of what is now Interstate 540 in the area that drains into Falls Lake. The goal was to protect the lake, the city's water supply, from contamination that might occur with high-density construction. The county allowed one home per acre, and buyers had to install septic tanks and use well water. In Bayleaf, some large homes are served by private wells, many with automatic sprinkler systems. The complainers are happier, for now. "This has been going on in the neighborhood for years," Cash said. "Nobody fussed enough about it." Staff writer Sam LaGrone can be reached at 836-4951 or [email protected]. To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |