June 20,2011: Proposed Watershed Protection Fund – Part 1

I presented a proposal for a Watershed Protection Fund that was developed by the seven participating land trust in the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative with Raleigh, Garner, Wake Forrest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon and Durham. This could easily be expanded into the Upper Cape Fear River Basin with Chatham, Pittsboro, Siler City and Goldston. Each individual local government would determine whether and how they may participate and how their revenue would be used.

The proposal calls for a one-cent per 100 gallon fee to water customers. That would equate to 30 to 50 cents on the average monthly water bill on the Chatham water supply system totaling approximately $70,000 per year. That may not sound like a lot, but Tandy Jones, of the Triangle Land Conservancy, reports that

they have been able to leverage these funds by $10 - $13 per $1 through grants and State matching funds. This proposal could generate $700,000 - $910,000 per year!

These funds could be very useful in protecting / restoring our stream buffers and wetlands and maintaining lands next to waterways in a natural state. Land would be preserved through the voluntary

cooperation of landowners through conservation easements or land acquisitions.

Preventing pollution of our water resources is 27 times more cost effective than cleaning it back up.

Chatham BOC will wait for the decisions of Pittsboro, Siler City and Goldston and have further discussions before we make our decision. I believe there will be enough support to establish this fund.

Our future will obviously be greatly influenced by the amount of clean /potable water we can provide.

BOC Discussion – http://www.chathamnc.org - 6/20/’11 Work Minutes