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3 <br />REPORT <br />Jordan Lake <br />DWQ Proposed Nutrient Management Strategy <br />and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) <br />May 23, 2005 <br />The purpose of this report, prepared by staffs from Planning and Inspections and <br />ERCD, is to provide background/context for a proposed set of rules from the <br />N.C. Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) and USEPA to address nutrient <br />management in the entire Cape Fear portion of Orange County, which is <br />separated into two parts, both of which drain into Jordan Lake. <br />The "Upper New Hope Arm" of the lake's watershed includes the Joint Planning <br />Area of Orange County (University Lake watershed, the New Hape basin and <br />Jordan Lake Zoning Overlay), Chapel Hill and Carrboro, as well as parts of <br />Durham, Wake, and Chatham Counties. The "Haw River Arm" includes the <br />remaining Cape Fear portions of Orange County in southwestern and western <br />Orange County. (See maps in Attachment 1) <br />NCDWQ has asked for comments on the proposed strategy/rules by May 315 <br />Background /Context <br />NCDWQ has been monitoring water quality in ,Jordan Lake on a regular basis. <br />Eutrophication (the aging process by which shallow lakes gradually became dry as a <br />result of the accumulation of sediment and organic matter) is a concern for .lordan Lake. <br />Nutrient enrichment contributes to the process, as it causes excessive growth of algae <br />and aquatic plants Qust as fertilizers applied to the land cause grass, plants, and weeds <br />to grow rapidly). In natural lakes, this aging process occurs over geologic time. However, <br />this process can be greatly accelerated by human activities in a watershed, and man- <br />made lakes, especially in our region, are much more susceptible to eutrophication than <br />natural lakes. <br />In 1983, Jordan Lake and all waters in the Haw River watershed were designated by <br />NCDWQ as Nutrient Sensitive Waters (NSW). As a result, the permitted wastewater <br />facilities in the watershed were given more stringent phosphorous limits in an effort tp <br />prevent further water quality degradation. In 1997, additional legislation added further <br />restrictions to the permitted dischargers in the watershed. <br />As a result of the 1997 legislation, from 1999-2002, nine local governments and water <br />providers in the Triangle and Triad regions participated in the development of a Jordan <br />Lake Nutrient Response Model,. The modeling found that .lordan Lake has elevated <br />