Is North Carolina at risk of ‘water bankruptcy’?
Posted by WanderInTheTrees@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 18 comments
Posted by WanderInTheTrees@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 18 comments
AntiBoATX@reddit
Raleigh is by multiple metrics supposed to be a climate resilient area, highly ranked nationally. Lol. There is no hiding from this beast that looms
JCPY00@reddit
I first started looking into “climate resilient” places to live about 4 years ago, and one-by-one every one that was on my list has been hit by some kind of freak disaster in less than half a decade.
roblewk@reddit
How does the Great Lakes basin fare on your list? I see flooding in Milwaukee this week but that feels anecdotal compared to your 4-year effort.
JCPY00@reddit
The two places I was looking at near the lakes were western New York (hit by tornadoes which never used to happen) and Minnesota (drought and wildfires)
WanderInTheTrees@reddit (OP)
I just watched a news segment that came out last night explaining our new water restrictions. Lol it only effects when/how you can water your lawn, for now... I'm sure more are coming.
We've been on a burn ban for weeks.
You're right, there really is no hiding from this.
Unique-Sock3366@reddit
Damn. We’re in such a perpetual, awful drought.
We moved to North Carolina, in part, because it was supposed to be a climate haven. It’s gorgeous and we love it here.
But damn.
Valeriejoyow@reddit
We moved here for the same reason. I still think it will generally be a good spot in the mountains. Before Helene we were in a drought and then had a few weeks with heavy rains so the ground was saturated before the hurricane even hit us. We're so dry right now. An extreme drought. Had a bit of rain tonight but not nearly enough. I have a debris site a few blocks from me and there is still a ton of downed trees. I'm keeping a to go bag for fires.
terrierhead@reddit
My best friend lives in Fuquay-Varina. In the past, everything was so green. This is terrifying.
RasputinsUndeadBeard@reddit
North Carolina in drought?? What??
KamaliKamKam@reddit
So the Appalachian mountains are temperate rainforest. We've been in a drought for a long time, minus Helene coming through and dumping 21ft of flooding on us.
maddomesticscientist@reddit
Tennessee too. It's been dry af for a good while now. My location straddles the line between moderate and severe on the drought map. We've also been under an elevated fire risk recently too. This has been a super dry spring. I've never seen such low humidity levels here.
I'm just waiting for one of my dumbass neighbors to start a fire. Yesterday the people across the road piled all the fallen branches from the ice storm into a massive bonfire then just left it to burn unsupervised. They lit it, waiting until it got good and going, then went home. (It's a huge empty property over there that they're intending to build on)
WanderInTheTrees@reddit (OP)
I get so pissy when people around me are doing those unattended burn piles. We have been under a burn ban for weeks, but I still see them happening. (I also see a ton of alerts on my emergency app for brush fires.)
Even if you don't read the news, anyone with half a brain knows it's too dry to burn anything. I mean, we'd hope anyway.
maddomesticscientist@reddit
I think a lot of the people here just can't get through their heads that this is a danger in Tennessee now. Can't or won't. Burn bans, if ever implemented, are ignored. You're supposed to get a permit to burn right now but nobody does. Then you have the meth heads that steal electrical wire and go way off into the woods to burn the coating off the copper. Come late summer when everything is dried to a crisp, a huge forest fire is just waiting to happen from THAT.
But those fools across the road ought to know better, seeing as how they're from a highly flammable state in the American Southwest.
FieldEngineer2019@reddit
I just came out of a 2 year drought in mid Michigan and now we are presently drowning. The future will consist of bouncing between the two extremes ad nauseam for a lot of places.
darkpsychicenergy@reddit
And this is only around one year after Hurricane Helene.
stillsmallacts@reddit
It’s just sad to see Falls Lake looking so low this early in the season. 2026 is already feeling like a bit of a marathon with how dry it’s been and it’s a bit scary to think that these weather swings might just be our new normal.
While population growth and these weird weather patterns are the usual suspects, we probably need to talk more about the industrial side, too. Data centers are a massive part of the puzzle that doesn't always get the spotlight. They use such a staggering amount of water for cooling, and when you’re already in a drought, there’s just no margin for error left in the system.
I know nobody wants to deal with water restrictions in Raleigh. It’s a hassle and feels like a band-aid solution but it might be the only way to keep us from actually hitting water bankruptcy. It’s far from a perfect fix but if it gets the job done until we finally get some real rain, it’s probably a necessary evil. Stay safe and try to keep cool, everyone.
StatementBot@reddit
The following submission statement was provided by /u/WanderInTheTrees:
Submission Statement: The state I'm in (North Carolina) is struggling. It's been months and months since we've had more than a few minutes of rain. Yards are crunchy and dry, leaves are falling out of trees as if it were autumn, and the days are becoming increasingly hotter as we mosey through April. People in higher places are starting to worry, and ponder about, where the future water might come from if it's needed....
(I know we all like to discuss the coming water wars, and this part of the article really stood out to me and screamed "R/COLLAPSE TOLD YOU!")
"In Fuquay-Varina, officials are seeking to withdraw millions of gallons per day from the Cape Fear River Basin to support future demand, while returning treated water to a different basin. The proposal has drawn opposition from downstream communities concerned about long-term impacts." I'm so tired of living through every imaginable shitty situation, but I suppose I'll just have to get used to it.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1smliss/is_north_carolina_at_risk_of_water_bankruptcy/ogf32qt/
WanderInTheTrees@reddit (OP)
Submission Statement: The state I'm in (North Carolina) is struggling. It's been months and months since we've had anymore than a few minutes of rain. Yards are crunchy and dry, leaves are falling out of trees as if it were autumn, and the days are becoming increasingly hotter as we mosey through April. People in higher places are starting to worry, and ponder where the future water might come from if it's needed....
(I know we all like to discuss the coming water wars, and this part of the article really stood out to me and screamed "R/COLLAPSE TOLD YOU!")
"In Fuquay-Varina, officials are seeking to withdraw millions of gallons per day from the Cape Fear River Basin to support future demand, while returning treated water to a different basin. The proposal has drawn opposition from downstream communities concerned about long-term impacts." I'm so tired of living through every imaginable shitty situation, but I suppose I'll just have to get used to it.