While North Carolina was amidst a severe drought, a private Chatham County golf club, which then-Gov. Mike Easley was a member, was receiving millions of gallons of water for its greens. According to the News and Observer the Old Chatham Golf Club removed nearly six million gallons of water from a creek for irrigation while the state was under drought conditions. The N&O report states that the governor’s office was involved with the decision to allow the club to pump out the water. The club also granted Easley a free membership, worth an estimated $50,000, which he failed to disclose.
