Agenda - 03-25-1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY STATEMENT ON ORANGE COUNTY WATER RESOURCES SUPPLY ISSUES BY Ems" BILLINGSLEY, .DIVE DIRECTOR, OWASA (Presented at Orange County's March 25, 1986 Public Hearing) I an Everett Billingsley, Executive Director of Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) . OWASA provides water and wastewater services to approximately 52,000 residents in the Chapel Hill - Carrboro community. OWASA recognizes the importance of comprehensive water resources planning and management and strongly supports cooperative efforts to assure efficient, equitable and environmentally compatible utilization and expansion of the water resources in the region. When OWASA began operations in 1977 it proceeded to aunt the supply of water available to the Chapel Hill - Carrboro community. The American Stone Quarry was acquired for use as an emergency reserve in 1979 and the temporary impoundment on Cane Creek was completed in July of 1985. These projects cost OWASA customers about $2.5 million and increased the local water supply capacity by 80%, from approximately 3.5 MQ) to 6.3 W. The 16-inch water line interconnection to Hillsborough was constructed in 1978 . at a cost of $1.1 million. This line permits the purchase of treated water from the Town of Hillsborough. Under formal agreement with Orange County, up to 2.0 W from Lake Orange would be released for treatment by Hillsborough and eventual delivery to OWASA through the 16-inch water line. These additions to supply by OWASA have allowed OWASA to continue to meet the demand for water until additional water supplies can be developed. Under normal rainfall conditions, University Lake, the Stone Quarry and the Temporary Impoundment on Cane Creek should be able to meet the projected water demand until about 1989, when the permanent Cane Creek Reservoir is complete. However, during periods of subnormal rainfall the water purchases from the Town of Hillsborough will still be required to meet demand. OWASA recognizes that all of Orange County faces a potential problem with respect to the adequacy of available public water supplies. Recent reports cite that the demand for water is nearing the capacity of available supplies. At the same time, other reports are recommending the release of water from Orange County water supplies to augment instream flows. OWASA supports the maintenance of a reasonable instream flow release for the purposes of maintaining the aquatic environment to the extent that such a release does not jeapordize the continued provision of adequate water supply to sustain the public health and welfare of citizens of the County. 1