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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 3, 2004 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~ (~ _~ <br />SUBJECT: Status Report -Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project/Nutrient Management Strategy <br />DEPARTMENT: Environment and Resource PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Conservation <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Background Materials <br />2) Stakeholder Project Meeting Schedule <br />3) 9/17/04 OWASA Memorandum <br />4) Study Slide Handouts <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />David Stancil, 245-2590 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To receive a report on the ongoing Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project, which will <br />yield a proposed Nutrient Management Strategy for the lake in late 2004. <br />BACKGROUND: The N.G. Division of Water Quality has been monitoring water quality in <br />Jordan Lake on a regular basis. Eutrophication (the aging process by which shallow lakes <br />gradually become dry as a result of the acctamulation of sediment and organic matter) is an <br />area of concern for Jordan Lake. Nutrient enrichment contributes to the process as it causes <br />excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants, just as fertilizers applied to the land cause <br />grass, plants, and weeds to grow rapidly. Under natural conditions, this aging process <br />occurs aver geologic time. However, the process can be greatly accelerated by human <br />activities in the watershed. <br />From 1999-2002, nine local governments and water providers in the Triangle and Triad <br />regions participated in the development of a Jordan Lake Nutrient Response Model. The <br />modeling found that Jordan Lake has elevated levels of nutrients -primarily phosphorus and <br />nitrogen -and high levels of chlorophyll a, which is an indicator of algal growth. The State <br />Division of Water Quality (DWO) considers Jordan Lake to be one of the most biologically <br />productive or eutrophic lakes in the State. <br />As a result of these findings, the State has determined that the Upper New Hope Arm of <br />Jordan Lake (which includes Morgan Creek and streams in Chapel Hill and Carrboro) must <br />address elevated chlorophyll-a levels that result from excessive nutrient loads (nitrogen and <br />phosphorus) to the lake, using a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) standard to be enacted <br />