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Attachment 1 <br /> 7 <br /> Information on OWASA's Long-Range Water Supply Plan <br /> January 29, 2021 <br /> Executive Summary <br /> OWASA is committed to supplying reliable and high-quality water to our growing community <br /> and economy for years to come. The planning,permitting, and partnerships required in water <br /> supply development can take decades to develop and secure. That is why OWASA is planning <br /> for the water needs of our community two generations ahead. <br /> In coordination with local planners, OWASA recently updated our 50-year forecast for water <br /> demands in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community, as well as our projected water supply with <br /> current resources in a changing climate. These analyses show that OWASA has enough water <br /> under most circumstances for the next few decades. <br /> We do have one vulnerability: the watershed that fills the Cane Creek Reservoir,which stores <br /> most of the community's water, is relatively small and the reservoir is slow to refill. University <br /> Lake has a relatively large watershed for its size, but it offers significantly less water storage <br /> than Cane Creek Reservoir and by itself does not meet the community's needs. Thus, when we <br /> experience an extended drought or back-to-back droughts in the future,we risk low water <br /> supplies,particularly in light of increasing climate variability. <br /> Over the past six years, OWASA staff met with local government planners, UNC Chapel Hill <br /> (UNC), and developers, obtained input from Board members and neighboring utilities, and <br /> reviewed existing plans and documents to identify demand management, reuse, and supply <br /> alternatives to meet our long-term needs through 2070. <br /> We considered the relative environmental, financial, and societal impacts in our evaluation of <br /> each alternative. Alternatives that are not currently legal, do not substantially close the gap <br /> between projected demands and supply, or are simply not cost-effective were removed from <br /> further evaluation. Conservation by residents and customers across the service area in recent <br /> years has greatly reduced our average daily water use. This means that our future water supply <br /> needs cannot be met through additional day-to-day conservation measures. <br /> Based on our analysis, a suite of alternatives that improve our access to treated drinking water <br /> from Jordan Lake show the most promise in meeting our long-term needs. Some of these <br /> alternatives also provide an additional facility for water treatment(beyond our own Jones Ferry <br /> Road Water Treatment Plant), which further increases drinking water supply resiliency but <br /> would require significant capital investment. Some also have the potential to improve economies <br /> of scale of water treatment and transmission expenses by working with our regional partners. <br /> These alternatives for accessing water from Jordan Lake will be further reviewed by OWASA <br /> before a preferred alternative is selected in fiscal year(FY) 2022. <br /> While Jordan Lake shows the most promise in meeting our long-term water needs, we will still <br /> mainly rely on our three local water sources here in Orange County to meet most of our water <br /> needs. However, we may use our allocation of water from Jordan Lake proactively to prolong <br />