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38 off 04. old .: me . go it too a•. loo Ol 3V °' Quality EnvironmentalIndicator : ;,: • . it Add >. V pi to loo do ` ,� } o , � � d , Y ` r ~l � �1 fir" . i i ^er' . . ,1 � r it v� o;F Why indicator As the demand for water grows , so does the importance of water quality was selected protection and water conservation . Water pollution problems can limit the use of existing supplies . Projections indicate that the demand on the public water supplies in 2010 will be almost four times higher than the demand in 1975 . Groundwater, which supplied the needs of almost half the population 30 years ago , accounted for only 20 percent of water usage i n 1990 . How indicator This information was obtained from the Triangle J Council of Governments was measured based upon information gathered directly from local governments in Wake County in 1977 and 1996 . Additional information for this section was obtained from Wake County ' s 1989 Water and Wastewater Facilities Plan ( Hazen and Sawyer) . The trend In 1992 , Wake County was using approximately 20 percent of the i estimated capacity of existing and potential surface water supplies . By in Wake County the year 2010 , water use is expected to rise to approximately 40 percent of this capacity. At the average 1992 per capita water consumption rate of 148 gallons per day, the surface water supplies in the county could support a maximum of 1 . 5 million users . If the current rate of population growth continues and 80 percent of these new residents are served by these water systems , maximum capacity would be reached by the year 2040 . Water conservation efforts , extended droughts , water pollution problems and / or changes in population growth rates could , of course , change these projections significantly . The Wake County i Wake County is moving ahead with plans to build the Little River Reservoir in the eastern part of the County. Local governments are also Government response working to strengthen water quality protection and water conservation efforts to reduce the pressure on available supplies . Maintaining a responsible water supply reserve into the next century will require significant expenditures by local governments and ratepayers for both developing new supplies and building expanded treatment facilities . The most difficult challenge will be to identify additional supplies beyond those currently known . Wake County may be forced to draw additional water from outside its borders to meet the growing demand in the future . A Water and Sewer Task Force is developing a plan to address these issues . 21