Jordan water rules debated

Environmental plan gets flak

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CORRECTION

An article in the City & State section Friday about proposed rules changes for the Jordan Lake watershed had two mistakes. Randy Kabrick of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority was talking about Orange County's University Lake and Cane Creek, not Jordan Lake, when he referred to water that was not impaired. The article also used the wrong term in quoting Frank Thomas of the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties on the kind of development that would result in urban sprawl. Thomas said "large lot development."

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CARRBORO -- Your soda should bubble. Your lake should not.

High pH levels, a percolating surface and a necessity to meet federal Clean Water standards all were factors in Thursday night's public hearing about preserving Jordan Lake.

"We're appalled when we see the mess caused by the algae and the sediment build up," said Loyse Hurley, president of Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities. "Time has run out. The state is the one that has the power to change things. It's been 10 years. Now we need action."

Twelve rules aimed at reducing algae growth and chlorophylla levels in the lake may begin that action.

Those rules, presented by the state Environmental Management Commission at the hearing, may not be approved until March 2008.

And if many in the audience had their way, the rules would be dramatically altered or not even put forth at all.

"Are these water supplies impaired? We don't think so -- and our 80,000 customers don't think so," said Randy Kabrick, vice chairman of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority board of directors.

For others, the regulations were not speedy enough.

The current set of rules has nitrogen reduction set for 2016, five years later than previously planned.

EMC members said the original time frame did not account for the cost and complications of a nitrogen reduction enforcement.

"The eagles rely on clean water and the fish that live in that clean water in order to successfully maintain their populations,"said Marsha Stephens of the New Hope Audubon Society. "The new rules should be adopted immediately."

The Jordan Reservoir provides drinking water for Apex, Cary, Durham, Morrisville, the Research Triangle Park and Chatham County. The lake also is a popular recreational site with more than 1 million visits each year.

Both of the lake's main functions are in danger thanks to its algae-choked waters, caused by an excess of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

These algae blooms, which can emit gas and cause bubbles on the lake's surface, can be fatal to fish. They also force officials to use more expensive chemicals to treat the lake to make it safe for drinkers and swimmers.

Another resonating concern Thursday was the high implementation costs of these regulations.

The 12 rules address a number of areas, including existing and future building developments, agriculture, fertilizer management and storm water control. The net cost of full compliance with these rules is estimated at about $710 million.

Many estimates from organizations other than the EMC place that figure even higher.

A large portion of this burden could be shifted to local taxpayers, attendees argued.

"I don't think it's right," said Anne Coan, a representative from the North Carolina Farmers Bureau Federation. "The taxpayers ought to revolt."

Others worried that the data EMC used to estimate proper percentages of nutrient reduction were from 2001 -- years after counties implemented their own rules monitoring lake pollution.

Representatives from several builders associations also were out in force.

Frank Thomas of the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties said increasing the land designated as a watershed area -- one of the new rules -- forces undue limitations on landowners.

"This would result in a workforce housing crisis," Thomas said. "Large [scale] development would become the only option, resulting in urban sprawl."

Others said a feasibility study had not been done to see if proposals such as 35 percent nitrogen reduction and 5 percent phosphorus reduction were possible, or whether they would actually help the damaged lake.

For many concerned people who drink from the lake, swim or kayak on its surface, the importance was not on who paid for what or where blame could be placed.

"Jordan Lake should be one of the jewels of our rapidly growing Piedmont region," said Elaine Chiosso, executive director of the Haw River Assembly. "We can afford the costs to clean up the water, we can't afford not to."