DATE: Wednesday, July 30, 1997              TAG: 9707300519

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER LANGSTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CURRITUCK                         LENGTH:   76 lines

MORE WATER FROM OCEAN SANDS SYSTEM TO BE CONSIDERED AS A SOURCE BY CURRITUCK

After years of studying a sea of proposals to provide water to thirsty beach developments, the Currituck Board of Commissioners has told its staff to see whether expanding the county-run water system at Ocean Sands could be the solution.

``We've studied other water sources when this source has been under our noses the whole time. This is the logical choice,'' Currituck Board of Commissioners Chairman Paul O'Neal said Monday night.

An agreement struck between the county and the Ocean Sands development prevented the county from selling water treated there to other parts of the Outer Banks for 10 years. That moratorium ends next month and will allow the water to be purchased by other communities.

The plan would likely include drilling more wells and possibly investing in a reverse-osmosis plant to produce drinking water from salty seas surrounding the Outer Banks.

``We realize we'll probably have to look at an R-O plant, but that's the nature of the beast and that's a beast we have to tackle,'' O'Neal said.

The board's goal is to provide central water to all areas that would like to join a county system. Under the plan envisioned Monday night, the private developments would bear the costs of providing the water.

The county also pledged to develop a reserve supply that could provide water to all communities on the Currituck Banks in the event of an emergency.

O'Neal said he was unsure how many developments would be willing to participate in such an arrangement.

``I don't know. We're going to construct a plan to accommodate underserved areas, and if they want to hook up, they're welcome,'' he said.

Finding a viable source of water has been a contentious issue for years in Currituck County. Commissioners said it was time to start actively preparing for future demand.

``Water is going to be the most scarce commodity in the world,'' said Commissioner Eldon Miller. ``People are going to be clamoring for it, killing each other for it.''

The meeting was prompted in part by a recent agreement between a private utility company on the Currituck Banks and Dare County to share water during emergencies.

Commissioners expressed concern about putting control of water resources into the hands of a private utility rather than a county system. Yet despite numerous studies, no comprehensive plan has yet been drafted for Currituck County to provide water to the Outer Banks.

``There has been study after study, money spent after money spent,'' O'Neal said. ``The biggest complaint I've always heard from the Outer Banks is that we never decide anything.''

All Corolla communities but Ocean Sands are served by individual wells or fragmented private water systems. Developers have often floated the idea of creating an integrated system.

``When I look at this summer with the little drought we've had,'' said Albert Killingsworth, vice president of Coastland Inc., the developer of Ocean Sands, ``you realize water is a disappearing resource and certainly we need to work together to solve the problems.''

After negotiations to buy excess water from Dare County broke down in 1995, Currituck County began looking for other ways to serve the beach communities.

``Our board decided we needed to start climbing another tree, I guess,'' said O'Neal.

He cited a report released by the North Carolina Division of Water Resources which said there could be sufficient water resources on the Currituck Outer Banks if the supply wells were strategically located.

But others believe that conclusion is optimistic at best.

Commissioner Ernie Bowden, who represents Outer Banks beach communities and opposed drafting the plan, said there were other studies that had shown no viable aquifers to meet the needs of the growing communities.

``I am frankly still leery as to where that water is that will serve the needs of the Outer Banks,'' he said after the meeting. ``I would have to see better statistics.''

He also questioned whether the county would commit the money to expand the water system or build a reverse osmosis plant.

``The county is not in a position to fund those systems. We just don't have the resources,'' he said. ``They paid lip service today, and that's as far as it will go.''

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