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2 <br />Throughout the years of re-authorizing successive phases of the project, the County's funding <br />contribution increased only slightly, never exceeding $3,500'per year (with an Orange-Alamance <br />contribution of up to $800 per year). <br />In 2003, the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project was re-authorized - as Phase 5 - <br />with a fairly substantial cost increase and a new methodology of calculating each participant's <br />cost share. Accordingly, every participant's share increased rather dramatically with the <br />exception, of the City of Durham (as the largest participating water user after the City of Raleigh <br />withdrew from the project), which had been paying the lion's share of the project costs <br />(approximately 50% of the total project cost). Orange County's share of the project cost was <br />nearly doubled (to approximately $6,800, not including any contribution from Orange- <br />Alamance). It is important to note, however, that Orange County's local share of cost for <br />operating the stream flow-monitoring gage at Hillsborough is included in this project. Should <br />Orange County withdraw as a project sponsor, the County - which is obligated by the terms of <br />the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement to ensure (by funding arrangement with the USGS) that <br />the gauges continue to operate - would be faced with paying the $3,500 annual local share <br />required to maintain the Eno gauge. <br />The Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project (as Phase 6) is again up for re-authorization <br />of a modified version of the project. Even though the City of Raleigh and the South Granville <br />Water and Sewer Authority have joined the group of local governments and water suppliers <br />sponsoring the project, costs have again risen significantly. However, as noted above, Orange <br />County's costs related to the operation of the Eno River monitoring. gauge at Hillsborough are <br />absorbed in this project's costs and the net cost for Orange County's participation in the Triangle <br />Area Water Supply Monitoring Project is actually less than $9,000 per year. In addition, the <br />monitoring program continues to provide water quality and water quality impact data that are <br />invaluable to other water quality monitoring projects of interest to Orange County: 1) the <br />monitoring program provides water quality data and identifies sources of water quality impact <br />(based on a sort of on-the-fly sampling and testing of various stream tributary locations during <br />storm events) that are useful in the work to develop a Jordan Lake nutrient reduction strategy; <br />and 2) the program will provide data that will be useful in the planned Jordan Lake feasibility <br />study that can be expected to have implications on the portions of the Jordan Lake watershed <br />within the jurisdictions of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: The total expected cost is approximately $12,000 per year, less the <br />Orange-Alamance contribution (currently $800 per year). The project is currently budgeted at <br />$7,000 per year. The Budget Director advises that sufficient funds are included in the 2007-08 <br />Governing & Management Non-Departmental function to cover the remaining cost of the project. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the BOCC re-authorize the County's <br />continued participation in the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project (Phase 6) for the <br />next five years and direct the Manager to execute the interlocal agreement.