The Wilmington morning star., 1941-01-12
The Water Survey

The Water Survey
Since the Cape Fear went salt on us last sum-
mer the problem of an adequate water supply
for Wilmington has been complicated by the
inevitable population increase incident to the
establishment of Camp Davis at Holly Ridge,
the shipbuilding plant in Wilmington proper
and other defense projects and industries in
contemplation for this vicinity.
Any supply of pure water which would have
served the need for a Wilmington developing
at it's former normal rate would utterly fail to
meet the requirements of the new and greater
Wilmington which will spring up from the
military and industrial impetus of the defense
program. 1t is solacing to learn that the city
authorities have taken this new situation into
consideration in the surveys it is now having
made and is drafting a program on the basis
of a greatly enlarged consumer need.
Because of the new demand and the need
for extraordinary care and thoroughness in
surveying all possible sources OF supply, Mr.
David G. Thompson, senior geologlst OF the
water resources branch, U. S. Geological Sur
vey, has been sent to Wilmington for consul
tations with the city commission and With
William c.. Olsen, consulting engineer whose
field staff is now making a study OF available
surface and sub-surface water sources. 1t is
expected that Mr.. Olsen's report, which was
authorized by commission action on November
5, will be completed by the end of this month.
What the recommendations of that report
will be are, of course, problematlcal. But II
may not be Improbable to consider what IS
publicly known of the situation IN general.
There is always the Cape Fear river. With
water taken therefrom at a point above lock
No. l, it is maintained in some quarters that
the danger of salt infiltration would be at a
minimum. We are assured that the distress
ing experience of last summer would not be
likely to recur. But there is the question OF
Fayetteville sewerage. The Fort Bragg dis
posal and treatment plant will remove one
source of contamination, and some experts
claim that the river water would purify itself
during it's long passage from Fayetteville to
an impounding basin near lock No. l. That
might be true. Again, it might be false. AND
even if Fayetteville installed a plant like that
at Fort Bragg, there would be a strong sentl'
ment among many against using water that
had been polluted at any point however distant.
There is, also, always the Northeast river
which was a favorite water source among sea
captains when ocean craft visited Wilmington
in large numbers. But it is claimed that salt
has penetrated as far as Castle Halnes, that
sawmill operators along its banks have SUI
fered heavy boiler damage from salt lncrus-
tation. And there is the darkening OF its
water by cypress roots. It would seem, how
ever. that any survey, to be comprehensive,
should look into the possibilities of utilizing
Northeast river water far enough up to escape
salt infiltration and view the possibility OF
treatment for color.
AS to a sub-surface source, it may be pointed
out that the military authorities are experience
ing no difficulty in finding all the pure water
they will need for Camp Davis right on the
reservation at fairly shallow depth. 1t is said
former surveys closer to Wilmington have
proved that wells of similar depth have pro-
duced salt water that borings OF much greater
depth have been no better, and that two wells
some miles apart have drained each other:
It may be that wells in the immediate vicinity
of Wilmington would not provide a sufficient
source of pure water, but there is no good
reason to discount the possibility of obtaining
a sufficient supply from wells further away
than Holly Ridge. Forty or even so miles is
not too far to bring water for a city such as
Wilmington is to become.
Wilnington's water problem must not be
dealt with from the viewpoint of expediency.
but of permanency. And above all it must be
solved on the basis of purity, no less than OF
adequacy.