Agenda - 10-30-2002 - 1 (AOG) - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 Don Cox: I'm not technically able to answer that. Obviously wells close by would be impacted with large draw downs. I understand that one of their high yielding wells is right on the banks of McGowan Creek where their water treatment plant is. So that may be pulling surface water into it. Perhaps Dr. Moreau could address that later in his comments. 4. DINNER At this time, there was a break for dinner. 5. REGIONAL WATER RESOURCE OVERVIEW_Pat Davis=Triangle J Council of Governments Pat Davis said that Region J is a seven county region that includes Orange, Durham, Chatham, Lee, Johnston, Wake, and Moore Counties. According to the 2000 census, the population was just under 1.2 million people. Orange County's population was just under 120,000 or 10% of the region's population. Based on a number of studies that have been done on the local, regional, and State level, the growth and development decisions that have been made have had some impact on our water resource conditions, both quality and quantity. And, of course we've had low flow conditions. This map shows in red and pink, before Moore County joined TJCOG, water bodies that the State considers impaired. In other words, not meeting any uses. So within the region there are about 90 stream miles that cannot support their designated uses. And 202 miles are rated as only partially supporting their intended uses, meaning there are some signs of decline and we need to look at how we might restore these waters to support the designated uses. The result of our independent and collective decisions in the region have led to those ratings, and as a result we've seen the State and others take action with respect to determining that steps are needed to protect or restore water quality. An example is the Neuse River Basin and Water Quality Rules that were put in place by the State Environmental Management Commission back in 1996. That was done in response to the fish kills and declining water quality conditions. So the State imposed land use restrictions, point source discharge controls, education outreach requirements on local jurisdictions and the agricultural community in order to try and restore conditions. And in the Cape Fear Basin an emerging issue is Jordan Lake nutrient loading. The southern half of Orange County is in the Jordan Lake watershed. The Jordan Lake watershed has shown signs of elevated nutrients. And there is concern by the State and some others that if those conditions continue to worsen then recreational use, aquatic habitat, and drinking water supply uses will be impaired. Other issues include inter basin transfers. We see it on a small scale within Orange County. Durham has had an inter basin transfer from the Neuse Basin and from the Cape Fear basin. And you've probably heard recently about the issue of inter basin transfers for the Cary/Apex folks as they want to get water out of Jordan. And certainly in recent events, the whole issue of emergency response and preparedness is certainly at the forefront. Region J's population is projected to grow by about 38% by year 2020. Orange County's population is projected.to grow by a similar percent to around 167,000 by the year 2020. So as that additional growth and development occurs, there could be corresponding increases in threats to our water resources, quality or quantity. How do those declining conditions affect you at the local government level? Well, first of all, your local land use plans or planning strategies all have goals and objectives relating to resource protection, sustainable wide use of our water resources, protection in the natural environment, etc. If we see impairment within the region, that means we're not accomplishing those goals and objectives with respect to water resources. We also may base State mandated regulatory actions such as total maximum daily load and what's gone on in the Neuse Basin. All of this certainly is going to affect the cost of doing business, whether it be utility service provision, point source wastewater treatment methods, the cost incurred with reviewing and approving new development activities, and increased costs of resource maintenance and upkeep of maintaining best management practices that you are required to do as a result of the restoration and protection measures. We do an analysis, a survey of water and sewer utility rates and fees within the region and we get 100% response rate. We're compiling these results. What this graph shows, it's a benchmark on showing the monthly combined water and sewer charges for a typical single-family residential customer using 6,000 gallons per month of water. Rates and fees are under increasing pressures for a number of reasons. So we need to think, "How do we minimize the cost of business to our respective customers and residents within our jurisdictions or utility service areas?" I'll start to switch a little bit to some supply issues on a regional scale. One question that folks might have is does the region have enough water to meet projected demands and for how long. In 1997, the region's water supply systems that our local government owned had an average daily demand of 116 million