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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-01-94 - VIII-A 1 ORANGE C O U N T Y BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 1, 1994 Action Agenda Item # SUBJECT: Implementation of Water Conservation Measures for the Eno River DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: Proclamation County Engineer, ext. 2300 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2031 Chapel Hill - 967-9251/968-4501 PURPOSE: To issue a proclamation implementing the appropriate portion of the provisions of the Orange County ordinance entitled ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WATER DURING A WATER SHORTAGE, RESTRICTING THE USE OF WATER AND WATER WITHDRAWALS, AND ALLOCATING AUGMENTED STREAMFLOW FROM RESERVOIRS. BACKGROUND: As of July 1986, the Orange County BOCC enacted the County- wide ,water conservation ordinance named above. The provisions of this ordinance were intended to address periodic water shortages which had historically affected the water supply capacity of OWASA, the Town of Hillsborough and the Orange-Alamance Water System. The ordinance set forth several tables relating reservoir water levels, the quantity of remaining raw water supplies and water conservation measures. The ordinance also set forth a management plan for the Eno River by linking rates of instream flow with water withdrawals for Hillsborough, Orange-Alamance and Piedmont Minerals and with the water level (and remaining storage capacity) at Lake Orange. The tables were revised effective January 1988 to reflect the addition of flash boards and additional water storage capacity at Lake Orange. The Eno management plan portion of the ordinance was supplanted by the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement adopted in 1989. As drought and water supply conditions require, the provisions of the County's water conservation ordinance are both implemented and rescinded by means of a public proclamation issued by the Chair of the BOCC. 2 As of Monday, October 24, the water level at Lake Orange was slightly more than twenty-four inches below the spillway overflow. The water level can be expected to continue dropping as there is a low probability of rainfall for the next week. It is anticipated that the water level at Lake Orange will be at or greater than twenty-four inches below spilling by the BOCC's regularly scheduled meeting on November 1. When the water level at Lake Orange falls to twenty-four inches or more below the spillway, the provisions of the County's water conservation ordinance enable and direct the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners to: 1) issue a public proclamation declaring that a Stage II Water Shortage Alert is in effect: 2) impose water conservation measures intended to achieve a ten percent reduction in water use through the voluntary water conservation efforts of all citizens, businesses, etc. , using water drawn from the upper Eno; and 3) impose mandatory restrictions on the water withdrawals of Hillsborough, Orange-Alamance and Piedmont Minerals to limits that are currently specified in the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement. All parties to the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement have already been notified, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement, to reduce water withdrawals to the prescribed rates, effective as of midnight October 24. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board approve the attached proclamation declaring a Stage II Water Shortage Alert and authorize the Chair to issue the proclamation. 3 PUBLIC PROCLAMATION REGARDING USE OF WATER OBTAINED FROM THE PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM SUPPLIED BY THE ORANGE-ALAMANCE WATER SYSTEM, INC. AND THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH AND FROM ANY RAW WATER SUPPLY WITHIN ORANGE COUNTY USED BY THE ORANGE-ALAMANCE WATER SYSTEM, INC. AND THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH Pursuant to the provisions of the ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WATER DURING A WATER SHORTAGE, RESTRICTING THE USE OF WATER AND WATER WITHDRAWALS, AND ALLOCATING AUGMENTED STREAMFLOW FROM RESERVOIRS, I, Moses Carey, Jr. , Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, having been provided with information that the water level of Lake Orange is more than two feet below full, do hereby issue this PUBLIC PROCLAMATION declaring to all persons that a STAGE II WATER SHORTAGE ALERT is now in effect applicable to users of water from the public water system supplied by the Orange Alamance Water System, Inc. and Town of Hillsborough and from any raw water supply within Orange County used by the Orange-Alamance Water System, Inc. and the Town of Hillsborough. The following voluntary water conservation restrictions are now applicable : 1 . Use shower for bathing rather than bathtub and limit shower to no more than four (4) minutes . 2 . Limit flushing of toilets by multiple usage . 3 . Do not leave faucets running while shaving or rinsing dishes . 4 . Limit use of clothes washers and dishwashers and when used, operate fully loaded. 5 . Limit lawn watering to that which is necessary for plants to survive. 6 . Water shrubbery the minimum required, reusing household water when possible. 7. Limit car washing to the minimum. 8 . Do not wash down outside areas such as sidewalks, patios, etc. 9 . Install water flow restrictive devices in shower heads . 10 . Use disposable and biodegradable dishes . 11 . Install water saving devices such as bricks, plastic bottles or commercial units in toilet tanks . 12 . Limit hours of operation of water-cooled air conditioners . This proclamation, and the voluntary conservation restrictions imposed pursuant to it, shall be in effect until the Ordinance entitled "AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WATER DURING A WATER SHORTAGE, RESTRICTING THE USE OF WATER WITHDRAWALS, AND ALLOCATING AUGMENTED STREAMFLOW FROM RESERVOIRS" is amended or repealed or until the Chair by Public Proclamation, declares that the STAGE II WATER SHORTAGE ALERT is over. By order of Moses Carey, Jr. , Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, issued this First Day of November, 1994 .