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Oral History Interview with Joseph A. Herzenberg, November 18, 1985. Interview K-0008. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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  • Abstract
    Joseph A. Herzenberg, a Chapel Hill politico whose specific role is not identified in this interview, voices his support for the Cane Creek reservoir project. The Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) was squaring off against residents of the Cane Creek area outside of Chapel Hill over plans to construct a reservoir to meet growing water needs in Chapel Hill, needs that OWASA asserted could not be met by other nearby bodies of water. Herzenberg finds the Cane Creek residents' efforts to be disingenuous and ultimately ineffectual: he sees them as elites masquerading as simple farmers to generate support and thinks their legal tactics will only delay the inevitable. This interview presents the perspective of an unpopular plan's supporter. His belief in the necessity of Cane Creek seems to frustrate the interviewer, who focuses more on pressing him over the utility of University Lake than the implications of creating the reservoir.
    Excerpts
  • Creation of Jordan Lake, once an alternative to the Cane Creek reservoir
  • Problems with University Lake as a Chapel Hill water source
  • The needs of the majority should guide policy
  • Defending the Orange Water and Sewer Authority's (OWASA) approach to the project
  • The opposition to the Cane Creek reservoir is "fooling itself"
  • OWASA was destined to win the conflict because it was on the side of clean water
  • Insisting on the legitimacy of his position and of the Cane Creek reservoir
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  • Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
  • Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
  • Subjects
  • Cane Creek (N.C.)
  • Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA)
  • The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts held by the Southern Historical Collection.

    Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.