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2 <br />customers and a great deal of trouble for governmental and utility policy makers and staff trying <br />to explain those differences to the customers and the media. And while the availability of the <br />new Hillsborough water supply has been integrated into the operating requirements of the Eno <br />Capacity Use Agreement, it has not been taken into consideration insofar as the Town and <br />County drought ordinances are concerned. Furthermore, the availability of the new west fork <br />water supply has motivated citizens living around Lake Orange to question why the water level <br />in Lake Orange should be dropped so drastically (and impairing the visual and recreational <br />amenity they enjoy) while the water level in the West Fork Reservoir (which does not provide <br />visual or recreational amenity) remains at the full mark. And finally, fairly recently developed <br />agricultural operations (turf farms) located near both Lake Orange and the West Fork reservoir <br />use large quantities of water without limit or regulation and perhaps even cause the curtailing of <br />all flow of water from the upstream areas into the reservoirs. <br />Out-of-town customers of the Hillsborough utility systems have approached the BOCC about <br />utility rates that they consider to be onerous and unfair. ~ While the BOCC recognizes that it has <br />no role in reviewing or setting Hillsborough utility rates, it is obligated to raise the concerns of its <br />citizens to other governing bodies whose decisions affect those citizens but who have no voice <br />or elective power with those who make the decisions. <br />The resolution of these problems, where they can be resolved, requires a coordinated effort <br />from all the local governments and utilities in Orange County and perhaps beyond (Durham and <br />Mebane, for example). The State of North Carolina, by virtue of its oversight role in the Eno <br />River Capacity Use Agreement, also has a pivotal role. There are and will be a number of <br />challenges in developing a system that is workable and satisfactory, because the demands of <br />each system and their respective supply capacities vary so greatly. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Boards review the attached <br />documentation as background to an ongoing discussion. <br />