Agenda - 04-13-2010 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 3 7 Jordan Lake Allocation Process: Attachment A is a copy of a handout distributed at the February 24th meeting which depicts the timeline DWR anticipates for the allocation process. The timeline demonstrates that DWR anticipates that the allocation process could continue through late 2012, and may take longer if InterBasin Transfer (IBT) certificates are needed by any applicant. (An IBT certificate is needed when more than 2 MGD are moved from one river basin to another.) Numerous steps remain to be completed prior to the awarding of the fourth round of allocations, including: • The development and submittal of a regional water supply plan. The water supply plan will be useful for supporting Orange County's application for water supply storage in Jordan Lake. The plan will be developed by the Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG) based on information provided by each of the members of the JLP. • The development and submittal of the Jordan Lake allocation application which is necessary to demonstrate a need for water supply storage from Jordan Lake. DWR has not yet finalized the instructions for these applications. • Updating the Cape Fear Basin Hydrologic Model. This is necessary to demonstrate the potential future impacts to the river basin as a result of utilizing the water storage available in Jordan Lake. • Completing the Cape Fear River Basin Water Supply Plan. This is to be done by DWR and will compile the withdrawals of water within the Cape Fear basin. • And, if needed, an IBT would be required for transfers of more than 2 MGD of water from one river basin to another, in this case potentially from the Cape Fear basin to the Neuse basin, depending on the volume of water involved as well as the ultimate destination in Orange County for the water from Jordan Lake. It is interesting to note that DWR is planning to complete additional measures that they have determined to be necessary in support of this process. These include determining the minimum flow requirement for the Cape Fear River, which represents the amount of water necessary to sustain the ecology of the river. DWR is also planning to re-examine the safe yield of Jordan Lake. Finally, DWR is working to determine the potential impact of climate change on the river basin and the amount of water available. There are a large number of variables to consider with regard to climate change, including the impacts to rainfall, river flow, evaporation, and others. Orange County Allocation Request: Staff has been working with TJCOG and the Planning Department to develop basic information supportive of our allocation request. As previously stated, the