If there were a catchword for perils and promise in this place and time it would probably be spelled W-A-T-E-R.

The beauty and activities it adds to the region help make it a Mecca for retirees, and there's seemingly an abundant drinkable supply of water here, even while the world's supply per person shrinks.

While much of the Earth's surface is covered with water, less than one percent is usable, Linda Staunch, a public relations consultant, said in a Monday presentation to Craven County commissioners. She said U.S. citizens consume an average of 500 liters a day, compared to 8.9 liters in Somalia.

"I've made it my task to get you all excited about water," said Staunch, whose firm has been asked to design a water conservation education campaign for Craven County.

The state has mandated that the county reduce water consumption from the Black Creek Aquifer - the county's source for drinking water - by 25 percent by 2008, 50 percent by 2013 and 75 percent by 2018.

The county got a pleasant surprise recently when its water system engineering consultant advised that the first phase for work to meet the mandate won't be as expensive as first thought.

The first wells drilled into the Peedee Aquifer, the county's future source for water, show that water to be fairly pure, meaning less money would have to be spent on making the water drinkable.

That still projects an estimated $8 to $10 million county cost to get to the 2018 cutback unless the rules change and conservation is the only way to even keep the costs at that level.

"The whole idea will be 'less means more,'" Staunch said of the water conservation campaign.

Staunch said it would be her job to design a program to educate people about voluntary conservation, before the county has to use water restrictions and higher fees.