Agenda - 11-13-2018 6-c - Triangle Water Supply Partnership Memorandum of Agreement

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negotiated a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) defining the terms of this regional effort (Attachment 1), which is presented for the Board’s consideration. Jordan Lake is the water supply for Cary, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park (RTP) South, Apex and Chatham County. Communities in Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties also have Jordan Lake allocations for future water supplies. Orange County was recently approved for a 1.5% allocation of the lake’s water supply by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The Jordan Lake Partnership (JLP) is one of the best examples of regional cooperation to meet Orange County’s commitment to ensure economic self-sufficiency and high-quality, safe, affordable, and reliable water services to meet the needs of residents and support continued growth. Orange County has been a JLP partner since 2009. The JLP has served as a forum for coordination and support during the state’s most-recent round of Jordan Lake water supply allocations. Over the past nine years, the JLP has helped the County and its partners obtain new Jordan Lake water supply allocations from the state to meet anticipated future needs, created a 50-year regional water supply plan, developed a comprehensive hydraulic model of the region’s water systems and interconnections, and revised Jordan Lake drought contingency planning. Joining Orange County in the JLP were Apex, Cary, Chatham County, Durham, Hillsborough, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), Pittsboro, Raleigh, Sanford and Wake County. The JLP was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Planning Award by the American Planning Association’s North Carolina chapter, and the 2015 Major Metro Achievement Award by the National Association of Regional Councils, as a model for effective collaboration between local governments. The agreement that created the Jordan Lake Partnership expires in 2019. Because the JLP has been a uniquely effective forum for regional water supply planning and water system coordination, the JLP members desire to continue the working relationship. Wake County, which transferred its Jordan Lake water supply allocation for RTP South to Cary in 2017, will not continue in the JLP/TWSP. The Participants propose to continue as a forum for regional coordination and collaboration for sustainable water supplies under the name Triangle Water Supply Partnership (TWSP). Proposed participants are shown in Attachment 2. The name change reflects the regional coalition with the addition of Johnston County and Harnett County who, while completely integrated in the Triangle planning region, draw their water supplies from outside the Jordan Lake watershed. Partners have negotiated a new Memorandum of Agreement defining the terms of this regional effort, which is presented for the BOCC’s consideration. All parties, with the exception of Orange County, have already approved the MOA, including two Orange County partners, Hillsborough and OWASA. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The non-departmental budget for FY2018-19 has been previously authorized by BOCC, and is denoted as Jordan Lake Partnership Dues in the amount of $10,400. Future year appropriations are to be consistent with the MOA and as subsequently approved by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. 3