News at the School of Government
Joe Martin
Director
Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer District
Pooling Knowledge to Fill a Gap
providing for everyday needs in extraordinary times
In ordinary times, Joe Martin has a long list of major issues to stay on top of—securing funding to meet current water demand and future expansion; maintaining an aging infrastructure; keeping rates affordable for the district’s customers, many of whom have low incomes; and protecting an increasingly limited source of water.
Last summer was anything but ordinary. The drought that had a major impact on the mountainous western region of the state put extra pressure on the Woodfin Sanitary Water and Sewer District. The district serves about 10,000 residents in Weaverville, Woodfin, Asheville, and rural Buncombe County.
The area’s water source is a 2,000-acre watershed that feeds into the Woodfin Reservoir. “All of western North Carolina has been in a serious drought,” says Martin. “As the lake was drawn down, we’ve had to go into mandatory conservation restrictions.” Less water usage meant less revenue for the district. Faced with some tough decisions about rate structure and policies, Martin contacted the School of Government’s Environmental Finance Center (EFC).
strategies to address affordability and conservation
“The EFC gathered and analyzed our data to show us which customers were using greater amounts of water and when the usages went up,” said Martin. “We expected to see a significant change in the summer when people were watering lawns and filling swimming pools. But we were surprised to find a lot of customers using more water in other times as well.” The unexpected culprit? An aging system with a lot of leaks. This knowledge has allowed Woodfin to be strategic in looking for solutions and in working with customers. The district is continuing to work with the EFC to explore restructuring pricing policies to keep water affordable for those who need it and to encourage conservation.
The drought continues to challenge communities throughout the southeast, but Martin credits the Environmental Finance Center with helping his district discover unanticipated problems they can deal with right now. “I simply don’t have the personnel to pull together, analyze, and model that kind of data,” says Martin. “The time that the folks at the EFC have invested in doing this has been invaluable to us.”
Martin was previously a city manager in Union City, Ohio. He says, “I’ve worked in other states that don’t have a resource like the School of Government. Having them here in North Carolina is an unbelievable asset.”
In addition to the potential benefit to his community, Martin says he personally appreciates the network of professionals that he is in contact with through his work with the School. “The EFC is a central point for people in my profession—a clearinghouse for information and connections,” he says. “They’re extremely knowledgeable and understand how to find the information or solutions you’re looking for. If they don’t know it, they’re networked to someone who does. The EFC is just a great organization.”
Find out more about the Environmental Finance Center at the School of Government, including training opportunities, listservs, publications, and current projects.