Orange County NC Website
z <br />0 <br />Lake. There are also some issues with the intake with Cary. All of Chatham County's water <br />supply comes from Jordan Lake. <br />Chair Carey asked how long the agreement was with Cary to access water through its <br />intake and David Hughes said 50 years. <br />Chatham County Commissioner Vice-Chair George Lucier said that Chatham County is <br />interested in a western intake. It is his understanding that there will only be two intakes allowed <br />in the lake, and there is already one from Cary. He said that a strong justfication to get an <br />increase would require a regional approach. <br />Mac Clarke made reference to the statement from OWASA, which was distributed to all. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked Mac Clarke to talk about the study that is underway that <br />involves UNC, OWASA, Durham, and Cary. Mac Clarke said that this is a low-level study in that <br />funding has been limited and it is proceeding slowly. It is basically a discussion of utility bodies <br />in the area to see if there can be cooperation. <br />Ed Holland, OWASA Planning Director, said that OWASA is participating along with <br />Cary and Durham in the study looking at optimizing the interconnected water supplies around <br />Jordan Lake. The work right now is focused on the feasibility of moving enough water around to <br />meet needs and manage risks through existing and enhanced facilities. This is the second year <br />of the study, which is costing $40,000 a year total, and which is being split between the three <br />utilities. <br />.Commissioner Jacobs asked why it was decided not to include Chatham County and Ed <br />Holland said that his understanding was that Chatham County was contacted. Gorge Lucier <br />said that he is a new Commissioner, but he has no recollection of this. <br />Chair Carey asked if was too late to involve Chatham County since the study began two <br />years ago and Ed Holland said no, not in his opinion. <br />George Lucier said that he is interested, but he cannot speak for the other four County <br />Commissioners. George Lucier and Ed Holland will try to facilitate the involvement of Chatham <br />County in the study. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked about the work between OWASA and Chatham County. <br />County Manager Charlie Home said that there have been discussions over the years about the <br />potential for a regional water system or an intake on the western side of the lake with a regional <br />partnership. <br />Ed Kerwin said that from OWASA's point of view, they are working hard not to have to <br />use Jordan Lake, but to use its own local resources (University Lake, Cane Creek reservoir, <br />etc.). He said that it is still prudent for them to hold onto the present allocation. The goal is to <br />have a collaborative process with all jurisdictions involved. <br />Discussion ensued on the use of chloromine for disinfection of water. Ed Kerwin said <br />that it is a must for OWASA for disinfection purposes. <br />Chair Carey said that he hopes there will be regional collaboration from this meeting with <br />the interested entities. <br />George Lucier said that he is hearing that as Chatham County tries to move forward on <br />their water supply issue, that all would be willing to work in an regional format to help them <br />address this issue. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like a summary of what Chatham County and <br />OWASA have been discussing over the past eight years on this topic so that there is some <br />framework of what has been on the table. He said that if Chatham County is interested in <br />regional cooperation and the others are too, then this type of information would be helpful to all. <br />He said that Orange County has a 1 million gallon per day allocation that could be used as <br />some kind of leverage maybe with Durham. There is an EDD that needs servicing, and maybe <br />there could be a discounted rate on the water that is supplied. <br />