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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-26-1995 - VIII-G 1 i OR AN G E C 0 U N T Y BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 26, 1995 Action Agenda Item # Y�-G SUBJECT: Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: Yes —X—No ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: Amendment to the Interlocal County Engineer ext. 2300 Agreement with cover letter and attachments TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2031 Chapel Hill - 967-9251/968-4501 PURPOSE: To present to the BOCC, for its approval and ratification, a resolution to amend the Interlocal Agreement governing the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoirng Project. BACKGROUND: In 1988, Orange County and a number of other Research Triangle area local governments and agencies which are involved in the provision of drinking water derived from surface waters entered an interlocal agreement to undertake a project to acquire information on the water quality of the region' s raw water supplies. These agencies contracted with the Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a three year program which would involve: 1) sampling, monitoring and laboratory analysis of the waters of the region' s water supply sources (rivers, lakes, reservoirs) ; 2) evaluating the significance of the findings derived from the monitoring and analysis as necessary to detect and explicate trends in improvement or decline of water quality. The initial three years of the project were completed in 1991. The water quality data gathered and analyzed to that point in time indicated that existing water quality was generally higher that had been anticipated. The agencies participating in the project concluded that there much more to be learned about the quality of the region's water supplies and the sources of water quality impacts. As a result, the project was extended into a second phase consisting of four additional years of monitoring, analysis and evaluation. The interlocal agreement was modified for the Phase to portion of the project as necessary to 1 2 r reflect adjustments in the focus of the some areas of the project and to provide for the additional four years of funding. The level of funding for Phase II of the project remained essentially unchanged from Phase I funding levels. The project' s steering committee, which is comprised of representatives of the participating agencies, has' now identified additional monitoring, data collection and evaluation goals and needs. The steering committee has recommended that the project be extended for four additional years to address those goals and needs. To date, most of the agencies that have been involved in the monitoring project have agreed to extend the project into a third phase and have adopted the necessary amendment to the interlocal agreement. One major exception to this is the City of Raleigh. As the entity paying greatest portion of the cost of the monitoring program, Raleigh has proposed that the program be drastically modified to save costs. The other participants have reviewed and rejected Raleigh' s proposal as inadequate, and it now appears that Raleigh may decline to continue its participation in the project. The project steering committee has developed two project work plans, one including Raleigh' s financial participation and monitoring sites of interest to Raleigh and one without either. The cost to the entities continuing with the project is the same under either scenario. Although the attachments to the enclosed Interlocal Agreement show Orange County' s funding contributions to be $3320 per year, the County' s actual cost is $2740 per year. The remaining $580 has, in the past, been paid by the Orange-Alamance Water System. This arrangement is expected to continue. The real net cost of the monitoring project to Orange County is significantly less than the $2740 figure. This is because the costs for the operation and maintenance of the Hillsborough stream flow monitoring gauge (except for the costs of the telemetry which are paid separately) are included in COG project. Prior to the Water Quality Monitoring Project, Orange County paid approximately $3000 per year in gage maintenance and operating costs directly to the USGS. Upon termination of the monitoring project, or Orange County' s participation in it, the cost of operating the gauge will revert to the County. The County will be required to provide funds for operating the gage as its operation is a necessary component of the County' s responsibilities as outlined under the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement. The funds for Orange County's participation in this project have been included in the 1995-96 Budget. RECOIrMNDATION(S) : The Manager recommends the BOCC approve the Amendment to Interlocal Agreement and County' s continued participation in the Water Quality Monitoring Project for four more years. 1 3 TRIANGLE AREA WATER SUPPLY MONITORING PROJECT 100 PARK DRIVE POST OFFICE BOX 12276 Received RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA 27709 April 6, 1995 (919) 549-0551 Mr. John Link, Manager JUN 5 ., 1995 Orange County P.O. Box 8181 Managers Office Hillsborough, N.C. 27278 Apex Carrboro Dear Mr. Link: Cary It is time to consider phase III of the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project. Tile Project Steering Committee recommends that your Board adopt the attached Amendment Chapel Hill to the Interlocal Agreement, which would modify and extend the Monitoring Project for Chatham County four years. In order to meet administrative deadlines, it asks that you return a duly signed copy of the Amendment by May 31 st. Durham As you know, the Monitoring Project, which began in 1988, has been a unique partnership. Hillsborough The Steering Committee, with voting representatives from the participating local govern- Orange County ments, has a cooperative agreement with USGS to conduct the water monitoring and to share the monitoring costs (USGS provides a 100% cost match). In addition, NCDEM OWASA supplies data to USGS from its ambient monitoring sites for inclusion in the project data- base. The Project estimates that NCDEM's contribution has a replacement cost of Pittsboro $100,000. Finally, the Steering Committee contracts with Triangle J as the project man- Raleigh ager. This partnership results in the local participants contributing$231.733 to a monitor- ing program valued at$543.000. Sanford As the Steering Committee designed Phase III, one of its primary goals was to avoid cost Smithfield increases to local governments. We are pleased to report that we have met that goal. The City of Raleigh is now exploring other project alternatives to lower the monitoring cost. Therefore, the attached interlocal agreement includes two workplans. Workplan#1 - our strongest recommendation - includes the City of Raleigh. Workplan#2 is our recommen- dation in the event the City of Raleigh does not participate. Adopting the interlocal agree- ment essentially allows the Steering Committee to implement#1 or#2. Your cost is the same for either option. I would like to note that, in the coming weeks, Raleigh may send you an alternative monitoring project proposal about which the Steering Committee has serious technical concerns. If you have any questions about the attached interlocal agree- ment or any alternative proposal, please call me (968-4421) or your Steering Committee representative. Yours truly, Kathryn Kalb, Project Chair cc: David Stancil, Steering Committee Representative A WORLD CLASS REGION PUTTING VISION INTO ACTION 4 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CHATHAM COUNTY OF DURHAM COUNTY OF LEE COUNTY OF ORANGE COUNTY OF WAKE AMENDMENT TO INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into by and between the County of Chatham, the County of Orange, and the municipalities of Apex, Carrboro, Cary,Chapel Hill, Durham,Hillsborough,Raleigh, and Sanford, to be effective from and after July 1, 1995. WITNESSETH WHEREAS, on August 8, 1988 the County of Chatham, the County of Orange and the municipalities of Apex, Carrboro, Cary,Chapel Hill,Durham,Hillsborough, Pittsboro,Raleigh, Sanford,and Smithfield entered into an interlocal agreement to operate a supplemental water quality monitoring project for the Region J surface water supplies; and WHEREAS, the Monitoring Project's initial phase covered three years of monitoring at 32 water supply locations and in March 1991,the local parties (excluding Pittsboro) amended the interlocal agreement to extend the Water Supply Monitoring Project through June, 1995; and WHEREAS, phase I and phase II project monitoring has been funded through local contributions and through a 100 per cent match by the US Geological Survey; and WHEREAS, the primary objectives of the Monitoring Project were to 1)expand the virtually non-existent database for synthetic organic chemicals in order to determine their general presence or absence in the Triangle's water supplies; and 2)measure long-term water quality trends; and WHEREAS, the Steering Committee has annually conducted special studies to address emerging issues and to better evaluate monitoring data; and WHEREAS, the Findings of the Monitoring Project (1988-93)indicate substantial progress toward the Project's objectives,as well as the need for further investigations; and WHEREAS, the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project will complete its phase II monitoring on June 30, 1995; and WHEREAS, the Project Steering Committee,established by the parties named above to make technical,financial,and administrative recommendations to the participating local entities,has determined that additional monitoring is needed to meet the objectives of measuring water quality conditions and long-term water quality trends. 5 i NOW,THEREFORE the undersigned counties and municipalities have agreed: 1.That the term of the Interlocal Agreement dated August 8, 1988 and amended July 1, 1991,under which they have operated a supplemental water quality monitoring project for Region J surface water supplies,shall be and is hereby extended until the completion of the project or June 30, 1999,whichever is earlier, and that the terms and conditions thereof, and the duties and obligations of the parties thereunder, shall be and remain as set out in the Interlocal Agreement as amended July 1, 1991,except as hereby specifically modified. 2.That the activities of the Monitoring Project be guided by the goals and objectives outlined in Attachment A to this Amendment. 3.That the monitoring program be revised per details listed in Attachment B to this Amendment: Recommendations for Extending and Modifying the Program-Workplan #1. In the event the City of Raleigh is not a party to this Amendment,the monitoring program will be revised per details in Attachment B,Workplan#2. 4.That the total annual contributions by local participants not exceed the amounts shown in Attachment D to this Amendment. ATTEST: Uva Holland, Chair Chatham County Board of Commissioners ATTEST: Moses Carey, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners ATTEST: Everette Edwards,Mayor Town of Apex ATTEST: Eleanor Kinnaird,Mayor Town of Carrboro ATTEST: Koka Booth, Mayor Town of Cary ATTEST: Ken Broun, Mayor Town of Chapel Hill 6 ATTEST: Orville W. Powell,Manager City of Durham ATTEST: Horace Johnson,Mayor Town of Hillsborough ATTEST: D.E. Benton, Jr., Manager City of Raleigh ATTEST: Winston Hestor,Mayor City of Sanford t • Attachment A Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project Goals and Objectives Goals •Improve the understanding and awareness about the quality of the region's drinking water supplies (including the intake areas and tributaries). •Minimize local governments'monitoring costs. Objectives •Develop and maintain a database to determine the presence or absence of organic contaminants in the Triangle Area water supplies. • Supplement existing data on major ions,nutrients,and trace elements to provide a 'basis for measurement of long-term water quality trends. •Document spatial differences among water supplies within the region. •Provide additional tributary loading and inlake data. • Develop a database for state, local,and USGS data. •Report results of the monitoring program to citizens of the region. •FY96 evaluate the effectiveness of alternative sampling plans and funding mechanisms for achieving project objectives while minimizing project cost. •Determine the role of stream and lake sediments in transporting and removing synthetic organic chemicals(SOCs). (Completed in Phase I) 8 Attachment B Recommendations for Extending and Modifying the Program _ Workillan#1 The Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project has made significant progress toward its original goals. It has provided a solid basis for measuring long-term changes in water quality,and expanded our information about synthetic organic chemicals in the Triangle Area's'water supplies.Much of this data will be of value to local utilities in meeting new monitoring requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act and in developing strategies for protecting and treating local drinking water supplies. Based on the first five years of monitoring data, sampling frequency may be reduced for major ions,nutrients,and trace metals without losing valuable statistical data. This change in sampling frequency will allow the Project to expand the number of constituents monitored at intake areas and to focus on those constituents EPA has designated as most important(or of most concern)in drinking water.It will also provide the needed flexibility to address emerging issues, such as cryptosporidium, and to enhance the Project's pollutant loading analysis through continued storm event monitoring and the addition of a stream flow gauge. The Project Steering Committee,composed of representatives from each participating local government, recommends the following specific changes to the Project: A. Streams,: Sample physical properties,major ions and nutrients 6 times per year and trace metals 2 times per year at intake sites and other USGS sites. (years 1, 2, 3, and4). B. Lakes: Sample physical properties,major ions,nutrients,and chlorophyll a 5 times per year and trace metals 2 times per year. (years 1,2, 3,and 4) USGS would reduce major ions and nutrient monitoring at its sites from 12 to 6 times per year. This "rotational approach"allows the Project to focus more resources on EPA's Phase II and Phase V(Safe Drinking Water)regulated constituents at intake areas.The Committee believes,given the existing Project database, the proposed monitoring frequency and sites for Phase III will maintain statistical validity while freeing up resources for other monitoring and reducing the City of Raleigh's project cost. C. 13 DEM Sites.The remaining stream and reservoir sites in the network will be sampled by DEM.DEM will sample 13 sites 12 times per year for nutrients and less frequently for trace metals and major ions.The State's ambient monitoring program is subject to change based on its level of funding. (years 1, 2, 3,and 4) Attachment C.1 is a map of the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Sites. D. Collect samples for analysis of cryptosporidium and giardia once per year at 10 intake sites and 10 selected tributary sites. (years 1,2, and 3) There has been increasing awareness and concern about the potential of future outbreaks and increasing likelihood of EPA regulation. The Phase III monitoring of cryptosporidium and giardia would continue the work begun in FY94-95. 9 E. Collect and analyze samples once per year at 10 intake sites for most of USEPA Phase II and Phase V regulated constituents. This expands the number of constituents monitored at intake areas and focuses the project on those 64 constituents EPA has designated as most important(or of most concern)in drinking water. An additional 122 compounds will be monitored in the categories of volatile organics, acid/base/neutral extractable compounds; chlorinated pesticides;chlorophenoxy acid herbicides; triazine herbicides; and carbamate pesticides. F. Collect samples for GC/FID analysis once per three years at each (USGS and DEW non-intake site. GC/FID does not identify specific compounds but determines the relative abundance of methylene chloride extractable compounds and shows patterns of hits. Samples with significant detections of these compounds will be analyzed by GC/MS and will include a library search. (year 3) This is a reduction in scanning from 3 times per year to once every three years. Since the GC/FID scans detected little during Phase I and II,the Steering Committee recommends shifting most of the GC/FID funds into monitoring the Phase II and Phase V constituents at intake sites. However,it recommends maintaining a general watershed scan every three years. G. Sample selected sites(6 sites) 2 times per year each during a storm event for major ions, nutrients, and trace metals. (year 1,2, and 3) During Phase II,the Project conducted special storm event monitoring at 6 sites and monitored one half of the remaining sites once during high flows. The Project will evaluate sites each year during phase III to determine where it needs high flow data. This data will enhance the Project's pollutant loading analysis. H.Add/maintain one continuous streamflow gauge(Swift Creek)to the existing 12 gauges. (year 1, 2, 3, 4) This will enhance the Project's pollutant loading analysis. I.Discontinue all project monitoring at the Smithfield site on the Neuse River. Discontinue all project monitoring at Falls Lake at NC50 and NC98, and Lake Benson. The Town of Smithfield is not participating in Phase III of the Project. J. Develop annual project summaries(year 1,2,and 3)and an interpretive report. (year 4) K.Reduce project cost by a minimum of 7.7%in FY95-FY98 &by 5%in FY98-99. The phase III local cost in Attachment D reduces project cost by 7.7%;reduces the City of Raleigh's share by$13,416 annually(or more than 12%); and holds other local costs constant with phase U. In FY 95/96,the Project Steering Committee will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative sampling plans and funding mechanisms for achieving project objectives while minimizing project cost. 10 Recommendations for Extending and Modifying the Program _ Work The Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project has made significant progress toward its original goals. It has provided a solid basis for measuring long-term changes in water quality,and expanded our information about synthetic organic chemicals in the Triangle Area's water supplies.Much of this data will be of value to local utilities in meeting new monitoring requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act and in developing strategies for protecting and treating local drinking water supplies. Based on the first five years of monitoring data, sampling frequency may be reduced for major ions,nutrients,and trace metals without losing valuable statistical data The Project Steering Committee,composed of representatives from each participating local government, recommends the following specific changes to the Project: A. Streams: Sample physical properties,major ions and nutrients 6 times per year and trace metals 2 times per year at intake sites and other USGS sites.(years 1,2, 3, and 4). B.j,W=: Sample physical properties,major ions,nutrients, and chlorophyll a 4 times per year and trace metals 2 times per year. (years 1,2, 3,and 4) USGS would reduce major ions and nutrient monitoring at its sites from 12 to 4 times per year. The Committee believes,given the existing Project database, the proposed monitoring frequency and sites for Phase III will maintain statistical validity while freeing up resources for other monitoring. C. 13 DEM Sites.The remaining stream and reservoir sites in the network will be sampled by DEM. DEM will sample 13 sites 12 times per year for nutrients and less frequently for trace metals and major ions. The State's ambient monitoring program is subject to change based on its level of funding. (years 1, 2, 3,and 4) Attachment C.2 is a map of the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Sites. D. Collect and analyze samples once per year at 9 intake sites for selected organics. (years 1, 2, and 3) This expands the number of organic constituents measured at intake areas. E. Sample selected sites (5 sites)2 times each during a storm event for major ions, nutrients, and trace metals. (year 1) During Phase II,the Project conducted special storm event monitoring at 6 sites and monitored one half of the remaining sites once during high flows. In year 1 Phase III,the Project will evaluate sites to determine where it needs additional high flow data. This data will enhance the Project's pollutant loading analysis. F. Discontinue all project monitoring at Falls Lake at Raleigh intake,at NC50,I-85, NC98,Little Lick Creek,Knap of Reeds Creek, Ellerbee Creek, Swift Creek, and at Lake Benson.Discontinue all project monitoring at Jordan Lake at Bells Landing and the Smithfield site on the Neuse River. Raleigh and Smithfield are not participating in Phase III of the Project. G. Develop annual project summaries (year 1, 2, and 3) an interpretive report. (year 4) Attachment C.1 11 l i o r'� O LU cn o r. cc J z 50 LU CL a. G \ H J J U) cc R. LJJ GC o LLJ Q + W p_ LU J ' Zl.. - I W Q I 1 1 ,i r M � m LO Ln Ln M M e+f M J Attachment C.2 12 Z O Cn \� LWL Q N I- i/fib (n PC to / o O �. w Y Q � oC9 N V! } Z Q oQC W LU EE � I L LO o r- a) 14 v —LO w CO M Co M 1 13 1 Attachment D Estimated Annual Cost to Local Participants FY95-FY98* PARTICIPANT . Workplan #1 Workplan #2 Apex $2,043 $2,043 Sanford $13,535 $13,535 OWASA $22,728 $22,728 Cary $14,556 $14,556 Chatham $2,554 $2,554 Durham $74,313 $74,313 Orange Co./Hillsborough** $5,610 $5,610 Raleigh $96,394 0 TOTAL LOCAL $2319733 $1359339 TOTAL USGS $2110361 $1149967 Total Project Budget $4439094 $2509306 Value of NCDEM Ambient Monitoring (Project Estimate ***) $100,000 $100,000 Estimated Value of $5439094 $3509306 Monitoring Project * Total local government project cost in FY98/99 is estimated to be $238,566. ** Orange County's share is $3,320; Hillsborough's share is $2,290. *** Estimate based on USGS replacing DEM ambient stream monitoring at 13 sites with equivalent monitoring.