Every now and then the stars align and a man comes along with new ideas and a fresh perspective. For some people, that man is Barack Obama. For others, that man is Joe Wilson. For GreenLink Water Solutions, that man is John Tynan.
Tynan is running for the Greenville County Water Commission in November, and we believe that he has the knowledge, passion and vision to lead the Upstate in the right direction. Not only does Tynan understand the challenges we face, he also has the solutions needed to conserve and protect our water supply.
To learn more about Tynan’s take on the issues, visit www.tynanfortomorrow.com or read the following article as it originally appeared in The Greenville News.
“Let’s Improve Water Conservation”
By John Tynan • September 12, 2009
Wells are drying up across Greenville County and residents are calling for access to public water. Our state is engaged in a bitter legal dispute with North Carolina over water allocation, yet South Carolina has no system for permitting withdrawals from our waterways. Atlanta only has three years of access to Lake Lanier and may soon look to Greenville’s supply to solve its water problems.
Greenville is facing threats to our water supply that we have never had to address before. Each of these threats has the potential to shape the future of our community. We need to have a reliable supply of clean and affordable water if we are going to accommodate the 80,000 new residents and additional 95,000 jobs that the Upstate Urban Land Institute and others predict for Greenville County by 2030.
Water conservation and efficiency are the first lines of defense in protecting our clean, affordable water resources and realizing continued economic growth. The Greenville Water System (GWS), with its legacy of responsible stewardship of our water resources, is the logical vehicle for water conservation and efficiency efforts.
Currently the GWS does not have the programs and policies in place to assist the Greenville community with the level of conservation and efficiency efforts that are needed to preserve future supply. The GWS has continued its basic outreach effort by including conservation information on bills, on its Web sites, and on a special ‘aquaholic’ mailer. More and targeted education as well as effective programs and policies are needed to prepare our community for increased demands and increased conflicts over water.
Conservation pricing is one of the areas in which the GWS can keep water costs down for average residential customers while encouraging conservation among large water users (using more than 150,000 gallons per quarter). Our current water rate structure encourages waste by providing a bulk discount for water — the more water you use, the less you pay per gallon.
Bulk discount pricing for water begins at 150,000 gallons. A family of four that uses 175 gallons per person per day (an average level) uses around 63,000 gallons per quarter. The GWS should transition to a rate structure where all users pay the same per gallon or one where large water users pay more per gallon. To see a difference in their bill from such a change, each member of an average family of four would have to use over 415 gallons per day, over 237 percent of the average. Large, wasteful users, on the other hand, would have a financial incentive to conserve.
Conservation programs available elsewhere in the region have successfully reduced rates of use and saved homeowners money. By installing rain barrels and rain gardens, providing vouchers and credits for installing water efficient appliances, and encouraging gray-water reuse, water utilities have saved millions of dollars and provided future supply for continued growth in their communities.
According to “Hidden Reservoir” by American Rivers, Atlanta could save up to $700 million and provide water for up to 1.28 million new residents and Columbia could save $100 million and provide water for up to 120,000 new residents by using these types of programs. Unfortunately, none of the policies and programs outlined above is currently available through GWS.
Pursing additional conservation and efficiency makes sense. It makes sense for the homeowners because of lower bills. It makes sense for the Greenville Water System because of the avoided costs of treatment and new supply. It makes sense for our community’s continued growth because it serves as a “bank” for future supply needs.
Greenville must continue to have access to clean, reliable, and affordable water and conservation and efficiency are the keys.
