HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-14-2010-13 (2)Sn-F'or',~v,a-{-ion _1 -t-e m
Memorandum
To: Board of County Commissioners
Frank W. Clifton, Jr., County Manager
From: P. David Stancil, DEAPR Director
Thomas W. Davis, Water Resources Coordinator
Date: December 14, 2010
Re: Update on Jordan Lake Partnership Activities
The following memo is intended to provide an update on the Jordan Lake
Partnership activities of the last several months.
As you may recall, in April, Orange County - as a charter member of the Jordan
Lake Partnership - submitted a letter to the N.C. Division of Water Resources
(DWR) expressing interest in receiving an allocation of water supply from Jordan
Lake. DWR has recently opened the fourth round of Jordan Lake water supply
allocations. DWR has indicated that they are interested in obtaining a regional
submittal from Triangle area municipalities who are interested in obtaining water
from Jordan Lake. As a result, 12 municipalities including Orange County, plus
OWASA, have been working together in the Jordan Lake Partnership (JLP) to
develop a Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP).
The RWSP will describe each Partner's projection of future water demand as well
as existing and proposed sources of water supply, and as a result, also detail
each Partner's anticipated water need through the year 2060. It is these future
needs which are expected to be met through the use of Jordan Lake water.
Several steps most be completed in support of the Regional Water Supply Plan.
These include:
• Updating of the Cape Fear Basin Hydrologic Model. The updated model
will be used to support the withdrawal of water from Jordan Lake, as well
as the return of most of this water as wastewater to the Cape Fear basin.
This effort has been funded by the NC General Assembly and is being
managed by DWR.
In January 2011 the JLP will undertake a study to document existing water
line interconnections, as well as potential system capacities, for each of
the Partners. Orange County plans to include the City of Mebane and the
Orange-Alamance Water System in this study. The Towns of Hillsborough,
Durham, and OWASA are all Partners and their systems are already
slated to be included in this effort.
In addition, several of the Partners will begin planning for a proposed
"Western Intake" this fall. The Western Intake is an additional water intake
point in Jordan Lake which is anticipated to serve several communities on
the western side of Jordan Lake. It is possible that the City of Durham, the
Town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, and OWASA may participate in this
effort. DEAPR has communicated with the City of Durham, who is
spearheading this project, regarding interest in participating in discussions
regarding this Intake.
As a reminder, each Partner will also be responsible for developing their own
allocation request to be submitted to DWR in addition to the Regional Water
Supply Plan discussed above.
In summary, it is likely that this will be the last significant regional allocation of
drinking water supply in the Triangle area. Since many Partners, and non-
Partners, intend to request increased allocations of drinking water, it is likely that
the sum of this fourth round of allocations will be the first to exceed the available
water supply in Jordan Lake. As a result, each party seeking an allocation of
water from Jordan Lake must be able to justify their allocation request. Staff from
DEAPR and Planning are coordinating on preparing demand projections for this
purpose.