When we moved to Asheville 10 years ago, one of our great pleasures was to admire the panorama presented by our surrounding mountains. Then, they were green and heavily wooded. Now, the ridgelines are being ripped bare of foliage and McMansions sprout like jagged teeth, mutely asserting the superior status of their owners.
It had occurred to me that it must take a great deal of energy to pump water up those steep grades, but I hadn’t realized how directly that might be affecting us. An expensive visit from a plumber to investigate peculiar rumblings in our hot-water heating system revealed that the pressure in our water line was three times as great as was required by our boilers. The plumber reported to me that he had been dealing with a rash of boiler breakdowns, which he suspected were not unrelated to the pressure problem. We have now dealt with this by having a pressure control device installed in our line.
A call to our water company confirmed a number of facts: (a) that the pressure was as high as it is in order to produce an adequate level at upper elevations; (b) that this is highly consumptive of energy; and (c) that those of us who do not require the boost in pressure are, in effect, subsidizing water delivery to those of our neighbors who are looking down upon us from their lordly heights.
Isn’t it about time for the establishment of some equity in the determination of charges for water?
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