Agenda - 11-03-2004-10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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Update on .Jordan Lake Nutrient Management Strategy September 17, 2004 Page 2 of 5 standards and (b) nutrient reduction targets to be achieved through a combination of point and nonpoint management practices. Based on available information, point sources account for about 45 percent of the TN load and 18 percent of the TP load to the Upper New Hope Arm of .Jordan Lake. It is cleaz that the success of any nutrient management strategy will depend on meaningful control ofnutrient loads from nonpoint as well as point sources. Because most ofthe Upper New Hope Arm nonpoint load comes from developed (urban azrd suburban) land surfaces, it will be importazrt that the nonpoint management strategy address both existing and new development in the Canboro-Chapel Hill-Durhazn-Research Triangle Park area.. It is notable that the potential for .lordazr Lake nutrient problems has been a water quality concern for more than 30 years, pre-dating the dam's construction in the early 1970s and the lake's eventual impoundment in 1981. The lake was designated Nutrient Sensitive Waters (NSW) by the EMC in 198.3, and all point sources received concentration limits for allowable total phosphorus (TP) discharges. OWASA's TP limit has been 0,6 mg/L. Historically, no TN limits had been imposed in the .Iordan Lake watershed; however, in 1997 the NC General Assembly enacted HB 515, which required that all wastewater dischargers in NSW watersheds (such as .Jordan Lalce) meet a TN limit of 5,5 mg/L - unless a nutrient response model indicated that alternative nutrient limits would be more appropriate. To assure that regulatory requirements were based on the best available technical information, OWASA and several local goverrunents contributed to the development of the .Tordan Lake Nutrient Response Model, as noted above, which has been a key tool of the evolving management strategy, Management Implications The outcome of this process may have important effects on local stormwater programs, agricultural practices, development requirements, and on wastewater treatment discharge limits. A similar regulatory initiative has been completed in North Carolina for the Neuse River Basin. Recent Activities Representatives from more than three dozen stakeholder groups, including local governments, envirorunental groups, agriculture, and the business community, have participated in a series of more than 15 meetings held from May 2003 tlu-ough August 2004, but achieved little consensus.. In early .July, OWASAstaff co-signed a letter to DWQ (attached) outlining a series of technical concerns and proposing a phased or incremental approach to nutrient reduction strategies. DWQ staff provided a written response to the technical issues, but did not continent on the phased proposal with the S