Orange County NC Website
~a~® <br />northern Orange County in terms of some of the stream losses below Lake <br />Orange before it gets to Corporation Lake. During extreme draught <br />periods a significant percent of the water is lost from evaporation and <br />transpiration and other means from Lake Orange to Corporation Lake. He..,- <br />noted that the OWASA operating scheme is not set forth in detail in terms <br />of how they operate their system when pumping is done from Cane Creek and <br />the quarry. Based on the model done by the Division of Water Resources <br />the yield from the OWASA system during the critical drought of records is <br />6.2mgd. It means that both north and south Orange County without system <br />modifications or outside water import would have problems in a very <br />severe drought. In terms of comparison, without modifications to the <br />northern orange or a drawdown system with the percentage of time above <br />30~ storage, the Eno .system would be about 93~ in October and 82~ in <br />December. He further explained that 82% of the time it would be greater <br />than 30% full and 18~ of the time less than 30°~ full. .This does not <br />include the steam loss. The OWASA system would be 94~ for October and <br />88~ for December on a 30% basis. With the modifications in the Eno <br />system the percentage would increase to 99~ for October and 96~ for <br />December. Because OWASA can bring in 2mgd from Durham, the stress would <br />be in the northern end of the County without any water supplement. <br />He mentioned that all ordinances should be reviewed and modified with <br />serious consideration given to the optimization of the OWASA system in <br />terms of fine tuning their operation and determining how best yields <br />could be operated from that system. To date, this has not been done but <br />should be as soon as possible. There are some problems experienced on <br />the Eno River downstream which need to be resolved. In summation Mr. <br />Wray asked that consideration be given to balancing the increased growth <br />with the increased yield so that the systems can be improved. There is <br />the need fora consensus to resolve a number of things and in particular <br />in the northern part of the County in terms of water resources. <br />Commissioner Marshall asked about the stage one triggering level of <br />9o'~ and John Wray indicated that this triggering point is addressed in <br />the revised table that will be voted upon later in the meeting. He will <br />continue to work with the County Administrators especially in terms of <br />operating the system. <br />Commissioner Lloyd asked Wray to explain his statement about problems <br />in the northern end of the County. Wray explained the problem had to do <br />with the stream gauge showing the water at a lower level than the <br />ordinance recommended. His office had received several letters of <br />complaint about the situation. Based on past experience and studies, he <br />would suspect some damage to aquatic life during this period. <br />Commissioner Lloyd asked Wray to comment on the possibility of not <br />using Lake Orange as the sole triggering point for enacting the various <br />stages of the Water Ordinance. Wray indicated there had been times,' <br />particularly before Lake Ben Johnston .and Corporation Lake were drawn <br />down, where a spilling took place and where the rules could have been <br />relaxed. However, as soon as the spilling stopped, the optimum water <br />yield would be that it would have to go back to that specified in the <br />ordinance. <br />Commissioner Lloyd explained the spillage that took place at both <br />Lake Ben Johnston and Corporation Lake in August. John Wray noted that <br />the average flow is 4mgd. <br />In answer to a question from Chair Willhoit Wray explained that any <br />system has downstream and upstream users. Some release would provide for <br />some utilization for upstream and downstream users. <br />G. WATER RELATED MATTERS <br />4. WATER SUPPLY STATUS AND ORDINANCE REVISIONS <br />Chair Willhoit explained that the proposed revisions to the Water <br />