Dear Board of Commissioners,

Lake Adger is one of the gems of Polk County. It sits at the foot of the mountains beckoning people from the surrounding area to come and fish and play in her waters and others like me from afar to come and make a home here. Within 10 minutes drive from Columbus the county seat, it is one of the most accessible recreational features in Polk County and one of the most beautiful in the entire state of North Carolina.

The new development of Lake Adger began in 1997 and since then over $420,000,000 has been invested in infrastructure, marina, and many beautiful homes all of which alone has raised the potential tax basis of Polk County by more than 13 percent, with a potential in the future of increased revenues in the hundreds of millions over the next 20 years.

There are water wars in this country today. This is not some theory of a dire cataclysmic future. It is happening right now. Today there are lakes and rivers in the United States that sit dry and empty because of contracts for water like the one you are considering signing. These water wars have continued to increase and show no signs of abating. The best of research from the United States Department of the Interior and now the Pentagon indicate that clean drinking water will become increasingly scarce and even a threat to national security in the not so distant future.

To sign any contract for water rights with other counties in other states that does not first protect our own resources and property is both shortsighted and dangerous. As elected officials of our county you are sworn to protect the people and property and resources of Polk County. Your haste in signing away our water rights does not even adequately protect the future increased water needs of Polk County residents as our county continues to expand.

Your decisions made hastily, without due diligence and in-depth business and resource analysis, even days before an elections cycle where you stand for re-election, constitutes a severe abrogation of your responsibilities and a threat to the property, the future needs, and the rights of the citizens of our county. We ask that you stop immediately and have the necessary studies done to protect our county.

Sincerely,
J. Glenn Dulken
Lake Adger property owner for 17 years