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TUESDAY MARCH 22 2016 <br />NEWSOBSERVER.COM <br />. of <br />Jordan <br />water <br />BY HENRY GARGAN <br />hgargan@newsobserver.com <br />RALEIGH <br />The state's Division of <br />Water Resources is hold- <br />ing two forums to discuss <br />Jordan Lake water supply <br />recommendations and <br />how they'll affect water <br />availability in the Cape <br />Fear River basin through. <br />2045. <br />The first forum, on <br />Tuesday will begin at 4:30 <br />p.m. at the Chatham Com- <br />munity Library, 197 N.C. <br />87 North in Pittsboro. The <br />second will be at 4 p.m. <br />Wednesday, March 30, in <br />the New Hanover County <br />Government Center in <br />Wilmington. <br />The recommendations <br />from the N.C. Environ- <br />mental Management <br />Commission allow Trian- <br />gle communities 96 per- <br />cent of the lake's supply, <br />according to a news re- <br />lease. Jordan Lake is the <br />largest source of water for <br />Triangle municipalities. <br />Proposed recommenda- <br />tions for allocating the <br />water, according to the <br />release, are: Cary, Apex, <br />Morrisville and Wake <br />County, 46.2 percent; <br />Chatham County, 13 per- <br />cent; Durham, 16.5 percent; <br />Holly Springs, 2 percent; <br />Hillsborough, l percent; <br />Orange Water and Sewer <br />Authority, 5 percent; <br />Orange County, 1.5 per- <br />cent; Pittsboro, 6 percent; <br />and Raleigh, 4.7 percent. <br />Sarah Young, spokeswo- <br />man for the Department <br />of Environmental Quality, <br />said in an email that resi- <br />dents can offer input and <br />concerns about the alloca- <br />tions and how they were <br />developed. Community <br />input, she said, "may sug- <br />gest the need for addition- <br />al analysis and better <br />explanations in the (re- <br />commendations') final <br />documents." <br />The use of Jordan Lake <br />water has been an ongoing <br />issue for the Triangle and <br />communities downstream. <br />Communities and farm- <br />ers in the southeastern <br />part of the state have said <br />they're worried about <br />where that water will go <br />once it's discharged. Apex <br />and Cary were granted a <br />permit in March 2015 by <br />the Environmental Man- <br />agement Commission <br />allowing them to draw 33 <br />million gallons per day <br />from Jordan Lake through <br />2045 and return only 2 <br />million gallons of that into <br />the Cape Fear River Basin, <br />where Jordan Lake lies. <br />The rest is allowed to be <br />discharged east into the <br />Neuse River Basin. <br />G a rga n: 919-460-2604; <br />@hgargan <br />