Do we have a water emergency? Governor Easley has called for new measures statewide to deal with our urgent water needs. A few weeks ago, he recommended short showers (he said that he had gotten his down to 22 seconds), repairing leaks, curtailing domestic water use (fewer toilet flushes), banning outdoor watering, installing water control equipment, etc. Governor Easley said that now is the time to commit to serious plans and get moving.

Locally, outdoor watering and car washing have been banned, and we have been requested to reduce usage substantially. This has been going on for months. Forecasts of future water shortages are dire.

Long-term, the problem is not going to go away. For many months (actually a couple of years), the situation has been crying for a concrete plan of action.

As The Pilot's March 12 editorial noted, the options have been identified and known for some time. But there is a disconnect somewhere. The pace of decision-making hardly reflects the urgent character of the problem. What is the planning timeline? Is there agreement on the objectives to be met? Do we have a well-defined strategy for developing a plan of action?

So far, our local leadership apparently has decided to meet in a large group and to refer the problem to a smaller subcommittee, which has been charged with studying the issue further and reporting back within a few months.

A few months? Provide yet more mulling time? Plan to have a larger group hold another meeting and perhaps call for further study? What sense of urgency?

Do we have a local water emergency? Let's be serious. Based on the leisurely pace of "planning" and the lack of focused commitment to action, apparently no.

Pray for rain, lots of rain.

Herman Mertins

Pinehurst