Grass might be greener at school

Homeowners probably won’t be able to, but institutions could.

Kinston council members are considering whether to allow schools to dig irrigation wells, but they seem pretty much convinced that homeowners shouldn’t have the option.

The subject arose when Bethel Christian Academy asked permission to dig a well and irrigate a baseball field the school is building.

“At the present price of water, and future prices, (it) will be such that our school cannot afford to buy it,” Bethel’s Roger Stancil wrote in a memo to the council.

The request opened a Pandora’s box for the City Council.

The problem, Public Works Director Scott Stevens said, comes when a well owner decides to use the water for drinking or other uses inside his home. If the city’s water pressure falls, well water could infiltrate the municipal supply. The water could contain contaminates that might sicken a lot of people.

“Our primary concern is public safety,” Stevens wrote in a memo to the council. “… It would be difficult to determine liability of (contaminated public water). … If a private well is allowed, we would recommend that some type of inspection be required and paid for by the property owner.”

A backflow valve could prevent the reverse flow, Stevens said, but the city doesn’t have a regulation requiring the device. The existing ordinance prevents any use of irrigation wells.

Washing a car, watering a garden, filling a pool or hosing down the neighborhood children will become an expensive proposition before long because of escalating water rates.

“The price of water is going to go up so that you won’t be able to afford to water your lawn,” City Manager Ralph Clark said.

Council members say schools need to water the grass on baseball fields to keep the surface playable. Homeowners, on the other hand, will have to become accustomed to brown grass or bite the bullet and pay the price.

The council hasn’t decided on an answer yet but members will discuss the water dilemma at their next meeting in May.