By Nancy Davis 



Now the regional water system has a produc- 

 tion capacity of about 6 million gallons of water 

 per day. 



But a study conducted by an engineering firm 

 estimates the demand for water could increase by 

 as much as 15 million gallons per day by the year 

 2000. 



In the winter, there is plenty of water. But on a 

 peak summer weekend, tourists push the popula- 

 tion to as much as six times its off-season level. 



While they're there, they use a lot of water. They 

 swim in it, bathe in it, guzzle it and flush it. 



Allan Dietemann, of the N.C. Division of Water 

 Resources, says it's like thousands of people put- 

 ting straws into the same soda. Pretty soon, the 

 glass is no longer full. 



And there are no free refills. 



Webb Fuller, town manager of Nags Head, has 

 grappled with the water issue for the last five years. 



The figures he deals with are in millions of 

 gallons. But he knows that every drop is precious. 



Three years ago. Fuller and other town officials 

 realized that if they didn't do something, there 

 wouldn't be enough water to keep pace with all 

 the buildings going up on the beach. (Nags Head 

 was not affected by Dare County's building 

 moratorium.) 



So Fuller devised a formula for doling out water 

 to new construction projects. 



"We didn't want to let growth go and use up all 

 our water," he says. 



Under the formula, residential buildings are 

 allotted about 65 percent of the water, and com- 

 mercial buildings receive about 35 percent. 



Hook-ups for new residential construction are 

 handed out on a lottery basis. Commercial hook- 

 ups are reviewed twice a year. 



The price of water in Nags Head isn't cheap. In 

 addition to the cost of hook-ups and labor 

 associated with water, residents must pay a $2,000 

 impact fee. Before you can turn on the water in a 

 new home in Nags Head, you'll probably pay 

 about $3,000. 





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So far, developers have swallowed the high fees 

 without much complaint. 



Instead of hampering development, the method 

 provides a patterned approach to development, 

 Fuller says. 



Soon residents also will be paying for a new 

 reverse osmosis, or desalination, plant. Pumps 

 will draw brackish water from an aquifer below 



