DATE: Tuesday, October 7, 1997              TAG: 9710070303

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   85 lines

DARE CLEARS WAY FOR CURRITUCK WATER SALES RECIPROCITY WITH NORTH CAROLINA WATER STILL STIRS SOME OPPOSITION.

The concept of regionalism prevailed Monday with the approval of a controversial agreement that will enable the county to sell water to Currituck beach developments in an emergency.

A 4-3 vote by the Dare County Board of Commissioners to approve an addendum to the tri-party water agreement removed barriers to a reciprocal arrangement with Carolina Water Service of North Carolina.

The board majority said the arrangement will benefit both the Currituck and Dare Outer Banks.

Some officials from Currituck County, however, don't consider the deal very neighborly.

``That's rubbish,'' Paul O'Neal, chairman of the Currituck Board of Commissioners, said Monday. ``Because if it was a neighborly thing to do, Dare County would have spoken with Currituck County.''

Without consulting Currituck County officials, the Dare board approved a contract July 7 agreeing to sell water to the private utility if there was an emergency shortage. Carolina Water would do the same for Dare County, the contract says. Implementation of the agreement was delayed until Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills also approved it. Some changes were made, necessitating another vote by Dare on Monday.

Republicans who voted against Monday's motion said Dare County has no business selling water to anyone until it is certain its own residents will have adequate supplies. They also questioned why Currituck developers will not be expected to bear additional costs that would be incurred in the sale of water to them.

Several residents urged the board to reconsider the contract, including a provision that gives the county manager sole authority to declare an emergency.

``A likely scenario of this agreement is that an emergency will occur on or about Memorial Day through Labor Day,'' said Southern Shores resident Ed Lawler, who works for water companies in Currituck. ``Dare County is not a water-wealthy county.''

But the board majority said that the county is protected in the provisions of the tri-party agreement, its addendum and in the contract with Carolina Water: A hydrogeological study must be done within a year, and no sale will be allowed if the water supply is not up to maximum capacity.

``Regionalism is a very strong point of this,'' Commissioner Douglas Langford said. ``Regionalism is a vision. Regionalism for northeast North Carolina is going to be critical for the future health of our area.''

Although Langford said the Currituck Board of Commissioners no longer opposed Dare's arrangement with Carolina Water, O'Neal said the panel's official position is still one of opposition.

Currituck officials in July said they opposed the plan because it supplanted the county's power to control water resources within its borders.

O'Neal said Dare officials rejected requests from Currituck officials to discuss water sharing shortly after the Carolina Water deal was proposed. He said Dare County attorney Al Cole sent a letter to Currituck instructing officials to talk to Carolina Water.

Talks between the neighboring counties had broken down about three years ago, O'Neal said, because Dare County ``only wanted to sell water to a few developers.'' Currituck told Dare that all residents had to be treated equally, O'Neal said.

``Regionalism should be between the elected boards - the ones that have to answer to the constituents,'' he said.

Carolina Water, a division of Utilities Inc. of Northbrook, Ill., operates the Ocean Sands water and sewer facility in Corolla for Currituck County, which owns the plant. Ocean Sands is not included in the Dare agreement.

Carolina Water also has various operational arrangements with other Currituck Outer Banks developments.

O'Neal said Currituck County plans to expand Ocean Sands' production by 500,000 gallons a day, which he said can meet the needs of one subdivision. Additional expansions could be made if more subdivisions want to hook up in the future. The county has also held discussions with owners of other systems, including the Currituck Club.

``We're interested in providing water on the Currituck Outer Banks with whatever plan is appropriate,'' O'Neal said.

In other business Monday, the board approved a contract with architectural firm Envirotek Inc. to start design work on a county health and social services building on Exeter Street, Manteo. Preliminary estimates for the 48,000-square-foot building are $5.5 million. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

The Currituck Club golf resort on the Currituck Outer Banks could

benefit from a regional approach to water. KEYWORDS: REGIONALISM WATER

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