Agenda - 09-19-2017 - 7-a - Mountains to Sea Trail – Report on Segment 11 Trail Planning

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9 Determine Whether the Mountains-to-Sea Trail May Be Located on OWASA Property August 19, 2016 Page 2 (Attachment 2)indicating that OWASA would allow the use of its property in the vicinity of Cane Creek Reservoir as long as three conditions were met: o There is no compromise of water quality in Cane Creek Reservoir o There is no expenditure of OWASA funds o Arrangements would be made to minimize any additional security risks associated with hikers using the property around the reservoir On June 23, 2016, the OWASA Board of Directors received background information on the MST and the County's process to develop specific trail alignment(s). Staff presented draft conditions for the use of OWASA land for the MST if the Board of Directors determines that OWASA land may be used for the MST. Twenty-two members of the public provided comments to the OWASA Board of Directors at the meeting. The Board of Directors scheduled the next meeting to discuss the MST for August 25, 2016 and stated that they may make a decision regarding the use of OWASA land for the MST at that meeting. The Board of Directors requested staff to consider several other potential conditions for use of OWASA land for the MST, identify any recreational restrictions on our land based on its water supply status and agreements, identify other reservoirs with trails near them, and clarify the Board process for the MST. Existing Restrictions on the Use of OWASA Property The OWASA Board of Directors directed staff and General Counsel to identify any OWASA land in the proposed Orange County corridor where we have agreements that may preclude the use of given land for the MST. There are some parcels which could not be used and others which would require approval by another party before the parcel could be used. A summary of these lands is included in Attachment 3. Allowance for Recreation Around Cane Creek Reservoir North Carolina Administrative Code Subchapter 18C contains rules to protect water supply reservoirs. Section 1200 of the rule specifies that recreational activities on a lake must be approved by the Department of Environmental Quality or the Public Health Commission. OWASA applied for and received approval for fishing and boating at times and locations where we could control access. OWASA did not apply to allow swimming on the lake. The rules do not require that recreational trails near the lake receive approval. Trails Around Other Water Supply Reservoirs OWASA staff talked to other utilities in the Piedmont of North Carolina who have lakes with similar levels of protection (WS-II classification which is lower density development in the watershed; also included WS-III reservoirs which have low to moderate development density) as the Cane Creek Reservoir where trails are around the lake. The Cities of Greensboro and Burlington have portions of the MST around their water supplies. None of the utilities surveyed indicated any concerns regarding impacts to the watershed or water quality. One facility did note that they receive calls from trail users about trail maintenance which they need to forward on to their Parks and Recreation Department; trail maintenance on OWASA land would be handled by the County or its designee and trail signs could include contact information for trail maintenance issues. Another local government that uses a large multi-purpose reservoir for one of its main 4.3