Orange County NC Website
the expansion. He said the expansion will lead to another 95 million gallons per day, and the <br /> County is only asking for 0.5 million gallons of this. <br /> Chair Jacob asked if the lake itself is being expanded, or just the allocation of supply. <br /> Craig Benedict said this is just an expansion of the supply, as there are different layers <br /> of water that can be drawn from. <br /> Kevin Lindley said this round of allocation requests is set up for demand through 2045. <br /> He said through 2045, all of the projected partners requesting allocation would take 91-92 <br /> percent of the available supply. He said 100 percent would be allocated through 2060, but all <br /> of the demands could be met. <br /> Craig Benedict said presently this is in the application and study stage. He said staff <br /> has decided it is important to be at the table as part of the partnership to make sure the growth <br /> areas of Orange County and its municipalities are spoken for. <br /> He said the next phase is to decide how to accomplish this if the applications go <br /> through. He said the Board has developed inter-local utility agreements with Mebane and <br /> Durham, and these will be looked at again. He said one of these needs to be established with <br /> the Town of Hillsborough. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked if Hillsborough stopped paying for their allocation. <br /> Kevin Lindley said he is not sure if Hillsborough had an allocation in the past, but they <br /> are applying for a 1 million gallon per day allocation in this round. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said it is her recollection that Hillsborough had an allocation in <br /> the past and then stopped paying for it. <br /> Chair Jacobs said this is his recollection. He said Orange County has been paying for <br /> years for getting an allocation, and Hillsborough stopped and is now eligible for another <br /> allotment. He said it seems to him that the money the County has paid should be applied by <br /> the state toward the County's ability to get additional allocation. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said it is not clear that you actually get an allocation at level two. <br /> She asked for clarification on how this works. She said it does not look like the 1.5 million will <br /> meet the needs out to 2060. She asked if there will be any consideration of the fact that the <br /> County has paid in the past. <br /> Craig Benedict said staff has looked at all of their available land and have come up with <br /> ample projections for water needs in the economic development zones. He said they believe <br /> that the 1.5m total will be enough for Hillsborough and the Eno. He said the city of Mebane <br /> has millions of gallons of existing infrastructure and treatment capacity to serve that 2,000 acre <br /> area that is part of the inter-local agreement. <br /> He said there is a prioritization given those paying level one. <br /> Kevin Lindley said if you convert a level two to a level one, you pay $90,000 in <br /> capitalization cost, and then annual payments remain the same. He said you have to convert <br /> from a level two to a level one. <br /> Commissioner asked if you have to use the water within a certain time frame if you <br /> convert to a level one. <br /> Craig Benedict said yes. He said prioritization is given to level one, but there is a <br /> reserve for level two applicants within the application program. <br /> Kevin Lindley said everyone has projected all of their demand through 2045, and some <br /> of this will be level two, and some will be level one. He said the regional plan shows that all of <br /> these demands can be met if the plans stay the same. <br /> Kevin Lindley said there will be future rounds to allocate the remainder of the lake. He <br /> said this application justifies why the County is asking for addition allocation when they have <br /> not used their current allocation for 20 years. <br />