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18 <br />WSMPBA Clarification -Potential Questions <br />December 9, 2010 <br />Page 3 <br />How will OWASA get water from Jordan Lake? <br />For the foreseeable future, water from OWASA's Jordan Lake storage allocation will be <br />withdrawn and treated by the Town of Cary and delivered to OWASA customers through <br />existing pipeline interconnections with Cary and Durham. Further in the future, OWASA might <br />obtain its Jordan Lake water through additional intake and treatment facilities that may be <br />developed by Durham, Chatham County, and others. <br />Will Jordan Lake be any more reliable or "drought-proo#" during drought conditions <br />when OWASA's reservoirs are being drawn down to critical levels? <br />Jordan Lake proved to be a robust and reliable source during the record droughts of 2001-02 and <br />2007-08. The NC Division of Water Resources Cape Fear Basin Hydrologic Model will provide <br />a new assessment of Jordan Lake's water supply yield under extreme conditions of drought and <br />demand as the model is updated as part of the current allocation process. Expanding OWASA's <br />water supply portfolio will better prepare us to meet the community's water needs under a wide <br />range of supply and demand scenarios, especially in an era of increasing climatic uncertainty. <br />Why can't we "live within our own means" and not have to depend on Jordan Lake in the <br />future? <br />It is likely that we will need supplemental water to avoid (or reduce the frequency and duration <br />of) mandatory Water Shortage restrictions and costly drought surcharges for our customers <br />before the expanded Quarry Reservoir becomes available around 2035. According to the Long- <br />Range Water Supply Plan, our existing Cane Creek/University Lake/Quarry Reservoir system <br />will have to be at least 75% to 85% full in May to avoid Water Shortage declarations under the <br />demand conditions projected for 2035. Because Jordan Lake is the most economical and <br />environmentally acceptable source of supplemental water, using the allocation that OWASA has <br />retained since 1989 is in fact "living within our means: ' <br />Why is it necessary to change the WSMPBA now, rather than later? <br />Modifying the WSMPBA is one of the primary recommendations of OWASA's Long-Range <br />Water Supply Plan. We believe it is important to proceed now - in advance of the next serious <br />water shortage. We also believe that current members of the OWASA Board, as well as current <br />elected officials on the Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Orange County governing boards, are all <br />familiar with relevant details of our Long-Range Water Supply Plan, and that they have a good <br />understanding of the basis of our request. Additionally, the Jordan Lake Partnership, in which <br />OWASA is playing an active role, is facilitating coordinated, region-wide applications to the NC <br />Environmental Management Commission to justify increasing or retaining the Jordan Lake water <br />supply storage ailocations of some JLP members. Reasonable and unimpeded access will be an <br />important consideration in OWASA's ability to retain our current allocation, which the Long- <br />Range Water Supply Plan identifted as vital to cost-effectively meeting our community's future <br />water needs. <br />