Water, Water Everywhere...

...Nor any drop to drink. Remember the line from Coleridge? I was thinking about it last Wednesday when the state's Environmental Management Commission approved a controversial 10 million gallon daily transfer of water from the Catawba and Yadkin rivers to the cities of Concord and Kannapolis.

Water disputes, a common controversy in the West, could increase in prevalence in the Southeast -- a region blessed with water, but also looking for ways to quench an appetite for growth.

This issue isn't settled yet. Read more here.

Another concern before the EMC this week: the Goose Creek water transfer issue. To settle the matter, the EMC had the option to adopt a recent ruling by an administrative law judge. The ALJ's decision was favorable for the environmental community, finding that the state's Division of Water Quality stormwater discharge permits won't adequately protect habitat in Goose Creek, which straddles the Mecklenburg and Union County line. The EMC decision is pending.