Falls Lake: Now or later?

No, I'm not talking about Now and Laters, the delicious fruit-flavored candy that provides a tangy treat for any occasion; I'm talking about Falls Lake: a major drinking water source for all of Raleigh and much of Wake County which is very polluted and in need of some drastic clean up measures. However, the cities of Raleigh and Durham are arguing over when the clean up should happen. Raleigh says NOW while Durham says LATER. From the News & Observer:

"No question, Falls Lake -- the reservoir serving 435,000 Wake County residents -- is polluted. No question, it must be cleaned up and better protected against future pollution. The question is -- when?

Raleigh says now. Durham says later. Either way, it could be very expensive for taxpayers. Estimates for a similar cleanup program at Jordan Lake run to more than $2 billion. And more than taxpayer dollars are at stake -- in the name of preventing present and future pollution of Falls Lake, the new rules could place significant and potentially pricey restrictions on developers, homebuilders and homeowners, local governments, road construction and agriculture.

July 1 was the deadline for the N.C. Division of Water Quality to have a cleanup plan for Falls Lake. They're still working on it. In the meantime, the state legislature could give the stalled cleanup effort a jump-start."

I'm sure there's much more to the debate than my candy-ridden brain can understand, but there seems to be a bottom line here: we're talking about drinking water. Public health. You know, not being sick. If there's no argument that Falls Lake needs cleaned up--why would we wait for things to get worse if the health of Wake County residents is at stake?