Agenda - 09-07-2005-6d - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 ordinance dealing the Lake Orange/Eno River system has been utilized, in conjunction with the Eno River Capacity Use Plan, to restrict water consumption for fourteen of the last seventeen years. As drought and water supply conditions require, the provisions of the County's water conservation ordinance are both enacted and rescinded by means of a formal resolution by the BOCC or by means of an order of the Chair of the BOCC. In recent years, conditions related to both water supply and water use have improved significantly in the Eno system as well. Piedmont Minerals has changed the manufacturing/mining process that once required an Eno withdrawal of 400,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more to one that requires approximately 10,000 gpd. Hillsborough's average water daily demand has fallen (with the closure of Flint Fabrics) from more than 1.6 million gallons per day (mgd) to approximately 1.3 mgd and it has developed an additional water supply from its West Fork Reservoir (with an estimated safe yield of nearly 2.0 mgd). Orange-Alamance has disconnected the Swepsonville (approximately 350,000 gpd demand transferred to Graham's water system) from its system, developed the water supply provided by four ground water wells (more than 200,000 gpd capacity), and contracted to buy approximately 300,000 gpd from the Town of Haw River regardless of Eno flow conditions. Its daily Eno withdrawals have been reduced from more than 800,000 gpd to less than 400,000 gpd. The net effect of reduced demands by Hillsborough, Orange-Alamance and Piedmont Minerals has been to reduce daily releases from Lake Orange by approximately 1.3 mgd ( from 4.7 mgd to 3.4 mgd, including instream flow losses). At the same time, residual instream flow (stream flow below withdrawal points) has been increased by approximately 0.65 mgd as a consequence of the minimum instream flow release from the West Fork Reservoir. In recognition of the changes in their respective water supply/water demand conditions, the Town of Hillsborough and the Orange-Alamance Water System have recently revised (relaxed) their respective water conservation ordinances/policies related to water conservation by their customers. Both the Orange-Alamance and Town of Hillsborough water systems have invested heavily in water system improvements that represent fixed capital and operating costs (costs that are not reduced as less water is used). Water conservation measures actually cause the unit costs of water sold to water consumers to rise. Both Orange-Alamance and Hillsborough, striving to reduce the unit cost of water to consumers, have noted a desire and a need to sell as much water as possible within the limits imposed by their respective water supply/treatment capacity. Officials of Orange-Alamance and Hillsborough met with the BOCC Chair, Vice-Chair and County staff during the week of 29 August 2005 to request that the County consider relaxing the water use restrictions placed on their respective customers by the County's water conservation ordinance. As justification for this relaxing of restrictions, Hillsborough and Orange-Alamance officials noted the potential financial effect of the restrictions, the change in the water supply/demand conditions, the conflict between their own conservation policies/ordinances and that of the County, and the potential for public confusion as to which restrictions apply to which customers (as County ordinances apply to some customers and not to others). The Chair and Vice-Chair noted that County has concerns about the effect of easing water use restrictions (with the continued high rate of draw-down of Lake Orange) on the environmental health of Lake Orange and the Eno River. Orange-Alamance and Hillsborough officials expressed a willingness to discuss strategies to preserve the Lake Orange water supply while operating for extended periods absent the imposition of water conservation measures. The Chair and Vice- Chair agreed to take to the full BOCC for approval, a proposal calling for up to a 90-day moratorium on initiating County water conservation requirements while strategies are