Water in North Carolina: Past, Present and …

1. Water in North Carolina:Past, Present and … David H. Moreau Professor and Chair Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. Evaporation and Evapotranspiration 115 BGD 79 (70%) Surface Runoff 18 BGD Groundwater Infiltration 18 BGD Streamflow 36 WATER BALANCE FOR NORTH CAROLINA BGD Units are in billion gallons per day

3. North Carolina Groundwater Aquifers Coastal Plain (semi- consolidated sand) Surficial not a principal aquifer Castle Hayne (carbonate rock) Surficial (unconsolidated sand and gravel)

4. Surface Water Eras • Navigation • Industrial Power • Hydroelectricity Generation • Thermoelectricity Generation • Urban Uses

5. NAVIGATION

6. State and Private Investment US Canals 1818-1850

7. 18th - 19th Century Canals in North Carolina www.historync.org/canals.htm Albemarle- Chesapeake (1860) Dismal Swamp (1805) Cross (1822) Roanoke Navigation- Weldon Canal (1823) Collins (Somerset) 1788 • Other attempts: • Cape Fear Navigation Company • Neuse Navigation Company (1818 - 1825), • Yadkin Navigation Company • Tar River Navigation Company, • Catawba Navigation Company (1827 - ;) • New River Navigation Company. Clubfoot and Harlowe (1827) Dredging of the Albemarle &  Chesapeake Canal, circa 1905

8. RAILROADS Railroads in the United States 1830-1880 Railroads in NC, SC, and VA 1860-1890

9. RAILROADS 1860

10. RAILROADS 1890

11. INDUSTRIAL POWER1880-1920

12. Cotton Mill Wage Earners in NC Distribution 1919 Less than 1,000 1,000-2,999 3,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000 or more

13. Power for Manufacturing In NC by Source • Water Power as Percent of • All Manufacturing Power • In Southeast US • 67 % • 1880 50 % • 1890 40 %

14. HYDROELECTRIC POWER

15. Pre-1925 Hydroelectric Projects in Catawba and Yadkin Basins Oxford (Lk. Hickory 1925) Rhodhiss(1925) Lookout Shoals (1915) Bridgewater (Lk. James1919) Catawba (Lk. James 1919) Narrows (Badin 1917) Falls (1919) Mt. Island (1923) NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA Charlotte Blewett Falls (1912) Wylie 1903 NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA Fishing Creek (1916) Great Falls (1907)-Dearborn (1923) Rocky Creek (1909) – Cedar Creek (1926) Wateree (1919) Columbia

16. Central Power Station Output in NC 1920-1944 1925-1926 2 yrs of back-to-back droughts 12.5 %/yr

17. Federal Planning Leading to Development of Storage in North Carolina • Studies by USACE in support of the Federal Power Act - House Document 308, 1927 • Comprehensive development plans by the USACE based on authority of the Flood Control Act of 1936

18. “308” Reports • Federal Power Act passed 1920 • Authority to license hydroelectric power development • In 1925 Congress directed the Corps of Engineers to prepare estimates of the cost for investigations of all streams in the United States where electric power development appeared to be feasible. • Corps responded in letter from the Secretary of War in 1926, printed as House Document 308, 69th Congress, 1927 • Corps authorized to carry out the investigations • Reports for NC issued 1931-1935

20. Corps of Engineers Comprehensive Basin Development Plans • Authority - Flood Control Act of 1936 followed by basin-specific resolutions by Congress • Comprehensive-Multipurpose Plans • Yadkin-Pee Dee 1944 (Kerr Scott Lake) • Cape Fear 1962 (Jordan Lake) • Neuse 1965 (Falls Lake)

21. North Carolina Construction of Reservoir Storage • By date completion date • By size • By purpose

22. 95 % in place 25 years ago 85 % in place 45 years ago 50 % in place 65 years ago

23. Population of North Carolina

24. Reservoirs in the Current Inventory of Dams in North Carolina by Size Land Resources lists over 5,300 “dams”, many small ones with no estimate of storage volume. A few dams are ash ponds or sludge basins that qualify as dams.

25. Of the 47 Large Dams • Account for just over 90 % of all normal pool reservoir capacity • 32 built by electric power interests – account for 78 % of all normal pool capacity • 15 not built for electricity, account for 12 % of all normal pool capacity

27. THERMOELECTRIC POWER PLANTS Nuclear Coal

28. Trends in Electric Power Generation by Utilities Largest User of Storage In North Carolina

29. Generation of Electricity by Utilities in NC

30. North Carolina Hydroelectric Energy Output

31. Generation of Electricity by Utilities GA, NC, SC, and VA

32. U.S. Generation of Electricity By Hydro

33. Urban Uses

34. North Carolina Population Metro/Non-Metro Total Metro Non-metro

35. Future? Four Avenues • Improved efficiency of use • Development of new storage (if it can be found) – on-stream and off-stream • Greater use of reclaimed water • Reallocation of storage

36. Sec. 3.4 SL 2011-374/HB 609: Improve Efficiency of Use of NC’s Water Resources DENR to provide outreach and technical assistance • Integrate into water supply plans • Water audits • Water loss abatement programs • Metering and sub-metering of existing multiunit residential, commercial and industrial complexes • Retrofitting fixtures, equipment, and irrigation systems • Conservation-oriented landscaping • Water reuse, including harvesting rainwater and grey water • Appropriate water pricing

37. Sec. 1.1 SL 2011-374/HB 609: Promote Development of Water Supply Reservoirs DENR is authorized to establish agreements with local governments to do the following: • Assist in a wide range of activities pursuant to obtaining permits (planning, assessment of alternatives, engineering studies, hydraulic and hydrologic analyses, identification of water quality impacts, cost estimation, etc) • Be a co-applicant for federal permits

38. Preliminary Analysis of Reallocation Possibilities

39. Kerr-Gaston-Roanoke Rapids Lake Gaston VIRGINIA NORTH CAROLINA John H. Kerr Lake VIRGINIA NORTH CAROLINA Roanoke Rapids Lake Power heads: Kerr 90 ft Gaston 67 ft Roanoke Rapids 74.5 ft Total 231.5 ft Power pool in Kerr = 1,027,000 ac-ft

40. Value of Storage for Electricity and Water Supply at Kerr Value for electricity at Kerr: 1000 gallons = 8,340 lb 1 ft-lb = 3.7662 E-07 kwhr 1000 gallons acting thru 231.5 ft = 0.996 kwhr At 90% efficiency, 1000 gallons generates 0.896 kwhr At $0.15 per kwhr, each 1000 gallons is worth $0. Water supply yields: Percent of Power Pool Yield, MGD for water supply (no shortage in 75 years) 1 22 2 44 3 67

41. 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 High Rock 35 ft Tuckertown 53.5 ft Narrows 174.5 ft Falls 54 ft Elevation • 250 245 240 235 230 • River Mile • Total Power Head = 317 ft • Power pool at High Rock = • 140,000 ac-ft

42. Value of Storage for Electricity and Water Supply at High Rock Value for electricity at High Rock: 1000 gallons = 8,340 lb 1 ft-lb = 3.7662 E-07 kwhr 1000 gallons acting thru 317 ft = 0.727 kwhr At 90% efficiency, 1000 gallons generates 0.654 kwhr At $0.15 per kwhr, each 1000 gallons is worth $0.098 Water supply yields: Percent of Power Pool Yield, MGD for water supply(no shortage in 75 years) 2 18 4 37 6 55

43. How Significant Is Yield of 50 MGD? Public Water Supply Withdrawals for Selected Piedmont Counties in MGD In 2005 Source: USGS

44. Cost of Developing New Sites for Public Water Supply Based on 30-year amortization at 4 percent interest.

45. THANK YOU!