North Carolina Governor Easley Announces Water Conservation Conference For Dec. 14

Participants Will Learn About New Technologies for Long-Term Water Savings

12/11/2007 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley announced today the state will host a conference to highlight the latest technologies and programs to help North Carolina communities reduce water use on a strategic, long-term basis. The conference, set for Friday Dec. 14, is sponsored by the State Energy Office in the Department of Administration and the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“This drought has heightened everyone’s awareness that water is a precious resource,” said Easley. “We must plan ahead to make sure we have the water we need. This conference is an opportunity to learn the best ways for North Carolina and its communities to grow and prosper while keeping water conservation a top priority.”

Experts at the conference will address topics such as water reclamation and reuse, water efficient designs for new buildings, retrofits of existing buildings, use of drought tolerant plants and training and certification of personnel for water efficiency. More information, an agenda for the conference and a registration form are online at http://www.energync.net/waterworkshop/index.html.

The federal drought map released last week shows exceptional drought spreading further to the southeastern part of the state, with 71 counties now in exceptional, up from 62 the week before. Bladen, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pender, Pitt and Robeson counties moved from extreme to exceptional drought. Fourteen counties are still in extreme drought and 15 are in severe.

For the latest information on the drought affecting North Carolina, visit www.ncdrought.org. A complete list of drought busting tips for residential, government and industry is available on the state's water conservation website: www.p2pays.org/water. Citizens can monitor their community’s water use at the Division of Water Resources website: www.ncwater.org/Drought_Monitoring/reduction/weeklyreport.php.

Source: North Carolina Governor