Slideshow: Locals try to save water wherever they can Children in Chapel Hill and Carrboro can look forward to long days at the pool this summer because of loosened water restrictions. The Orange Water and Sewer Authority lowered water restrictions from Stage 3 to Stage 1 on April 10, so now pools can be filled and topped off.
While most students learn about the civil rights movement in a history class, a group of local students will have the opportunity this summer to learn about it firsthand. Ten chaperones will accompany local middle and high school students to Atlanta to visit the King Center, the Georgia Aquarium and Morehouse and Spelman colleges. "We wanted to give the kids the opportunity to learn something about their heritage and get out of the neighborhood," said chaperone John French, resident service coordinator for Chapel Hill Police Department.
Straight-talking 10-year-old Sadie Frank takes singing and violin lessons, dances jazz at a studio and has been perfecting her Spanish since she was 6 years old. And between Girl Scouts and math homework, Sadie finds time to host a weekly bilingual radio show, Sadie's Samosas, on Carrboro's WCOM 103.5 FM. She's wanted her own show ever since she started wandering around the station with her father, back when he was in charge. "What the heck, I'll go for it and see if I'm allowed as a kid," Sadie said. "Next day Bob called me for an interview, and the rest is history."
Doctors will provide local Latinos with free tests and information at the Latino Health Fair on Sunday. Medical professionals will perform free immunizations and HIV tests, and other organizations will give out information about community concerns such as nutrition and alcohol abuse. Organizers are expecting 200 to 300 people to attend the fair at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill. "It's a stone's throw, and (Latinos) can just walk over after Mass," said Dr. Mauricio Cohen, a professor of medicine at UNC's medical school who served on the organizational committee.
With tighter water restrictions and higher rates in place, the University and residents are feeling the effects of the continuing drought. And both are doing more to conserve water. Because lake levels have risen to almost 60 percent, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority will meet today and could decide to roll back water restrictions. Stage 3 water rules took effect March 1, restricting uses such as topping off swimming pools. The OWASA Board Of Directors said it would discuss a move back to Stage 2 if levels rose to 60 percent by April 1.
Chapel Hill's recreation facilities still are in trouble despite recent rains that have raised the water levels in local reservoirs. Outdoor baseball and soccer fields are in desperate need of water, and the town is searching for solutions that would keep both fields and pools open. Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Director Butch Kisiah called the situation urgent. "If we don't get some rain, it's going to be tough," he said. The continuing drought has put a strain on both construction and recreation space.
If Stage 3 water restrictions don't make the difference officials anticipate, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority has a backup plan. Chapel Hill and Carrboro are in Stage 2 restrictions now but could decide Thursday to up the restrictions. Leaders already are looking for other solutions. Adel Hanna, a research professor at the Institute for the Environment at UNC, said just limiting water shouldn't be the only step taken. "If we save water, we are not going to end the drought, but we will be a lot better off," he said. So OWASA's board of directors is exploring other solutions.
Some establishments might need to change the way they do business if drought conditions persist. The Orange Water and Sewer Authority will decide Thursday whether to implement Stage 3 water restrictions, which will affect businesses that use water, such as gardening centers and car washes. Jerry Whortan, executive director for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, said the center's whirlpool won't be open for long if the restrictions are upped.
The 2002 drought got so bad that UNC students almost were sent home. "It wouldn't have been too much longer," former Orange Water and Sewer Authority board member Mark Marcoplos said. With water running out, OWASA recommended a deal to buy water from Durham. The next day, it rained, kick-starting the drought recovery after months of conservation efforts. More than five years later, the area is looking to lessons OWASA learned to guide Chapel Hill and Carrboro out of another drought.
Biking to work early one morning as a teenager, artist Michael Brown saw a Franklin Street sky that inspired the first mural he painted for Chapel Hill in 1989. Nineteen years and 20 murals later, Chapel Hill groups are working together to restore Brown's iconic murals that appear on the sides of many local buildings. The Downtown Partnership, the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill and the Chapel Hill Historical Society are raising money and awareness for the murals.
