About 4 million gallons of drinking water lost each day in Durham
AND GET IT.
>> WELCOME BACK. ROUGHLY
4 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER ARE
LOST EVERY DAY IN DURHAM,
MAINLY BECAUSE OF BROKEN PIPES.
AND THAT'S A STAGGERING NUMBER.
4 MILLION. BUT WHICH PERHAPS
MORE SHOCKING IS THAT THAT
NUMBER IS ACTUALLY BETTER THAN
THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. WRAL
INVESTIGATES. SARAH KRUEGER IS
ASKING WHAT'S BEING DONE TO
STOP THIS WASTE OF SUCH A VITAL
RESOURCE.
IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ALL AGREE
ON. WATER IS A PRECIOUS
RESOURCE.
>> WATER IS INCREDIBLY PRECIOUS
YET IN DURHAM AND ELSEWHERE.
SO MUCH OF IT IS WASTED.
>> IT HURTS TO KNOW THAT WATER
IS LEAKING INTO THE GROUND
RATHER THAN SERVICE IN HOMES
AND BUSINESSES.
>> THROUGH A PUBLIC RECORDS
REQUEST, WRAL INVESTIGATES
FOUND LAST YEAR AN AVERAGE OF
ROUGHLY 4 MILLION GALLONS OF
WATER WERE LOST IN THE CITY
EVERY DAY FOR A TOTAL OF ABOUT
1.4 BILLION GALLONS OVER THE
COURSE OF THE YEAR. WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT DRINKING WATER
THAT HAS BEEN TREATED BUT HAS
NOT YET MADE IT TO A CUSTOMER'S
HOME. SO WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
>> TO PEOPLE WHO HEAR THAT
NUMBER AND ARE JUST BLOWN AWAY
IT FOR ME. IT SOUNDS LIKE A
LARGE NUMBER. BUT REGINALD
HICKS, THE CITY'S WATER
RESOURCE PLANNING MANAGER, SAYS
IT'S BETTER THAN THE NATIONAL
AVERAGE IN DURHAM. THE LAST
AMOUNTS TO ABOUT 13% OF THE
SYSTEM'S WATER.
>> NATIONALLY, THE AVERAGE IS
CLOSER TO 16%. AND WHAT IS THE
PRIMARY REASON THAT WATER IS
LOST? LEAKS?
>> BREAKS AND REALLY METER
ACCURACY. ALSO.
>> WHAT CAN YOU ALL DO AND WHAT
ARE YOU ALL DOING TO BE
PROACTIVE AND FIND THESE POINTS
BEFORE THEY BECOME A LEAK OR
BREAK OUR DISTRIBUTION DIVISION
DOES HAVE TO STAFF. SO I WOULD
THINK THAT THEY OPERATE TO THE
SUREST WAY TO PREVENT A BREAK
IS TO REPLACE AGING PIPES LIKE
THEY'RE DOING HERE ON WEST CLUB
BOULEVARD. THESE PIPES WERE
ABOUT 100 YEARS OLD. BUT THIS
WORK IS NOT CHEAP.
>> WE HAVE OVER 1200 MILES OF
DISTRIBUTION LINE. SO THAT'S
A LOT OF PIE FOR JUST ONE
PROJECT ABOUT TO GET UNDERWAY
DOWNTOWN. THE PRICE TAG IS
NEARLY 28 MILLION DOLLARS IN
THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR NEXT
YEAR. THE CITY MANAGER SET
ASIDE 316 BILLION FOR WATER
AND SEWER IMPROVEMENT.
>> VERY EXPENSIVE. DO THINK
IT'S WORTH IT. YOU KNOW, FOR
SURE. I MEAN. WE NEED TO INVEST
IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE. DO IT
PROACTIVELY RATHER THAN
RETROACTIVELY
>> AS FAR AS HOW EACH ONE OF
US CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THE CITY WATER EMPLOYEES SAY
IF YOU SEE A LEAD, WHETHER IT'S
WATER SHOOTING OUT OF THE
GROUND OR A SLOW TRICKLE DOWN
THE ROAD. REPORT IT BY CALLING
WATER MANAGEMENT. THEY'LL
RESPOND NO MATTER WHAT TIME
IT IS, OBVIOUSLY WE'LL NEVER
GET 0. BUT I THINK DOING WHAT
WE CAN TO SAVE WATER IS REALLY,
REALLY IMPORTANT.
>> SARAH KRUEGER, WRAL NEWS,
DURHAM.
AND WE HAVE THAT NUMBER FOR
WATER MANAGEMENT WITH THE STORY
ONLINE. BACK IN MARCH, THERE
ARE REQUESTED WATER LOSS
NUMBERS FROM THE CITY OF
RALEIGH TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT
REALLY THE SITUATION IS THERE
AS WELL.
>> BUT THE CITY HASN'T YET