CARY, NC – At their regular meeting today, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission unanimously approved increases in water allocation from Jordan Lake as well as an increase in interbasin transfer, based on a request made by Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and Wake County (on behalf of the Research Triangle Park). Under the plan finalized late yesterday and adopted this morning, the Wake County group received a total increase in water allocations from Jordan Lake --which is in the Cape Fear River Basin— from 16 mgd to 25 mgd, and received an increase in the allowed interbasin transfer from 16 mgd to 24 mgd, with some conditions. The most significant conditions are a requirement for the towns and the County to have in place a method to return some of the water to the Cape Fear Basin by 2010, and to have stream buffers in the Jordan Lake watershed.

"We’re obviously pleased with the decision and appreciate all the effort that went into bringing this issue to a close," said Cary Town Manager Bill Coleman. Coleman noted that Cary had for some time now been working on a Cape Fear discharge, so that meeting that condition was already in line with where the Town was heading.

It will be about a month, however, before the towns and the County can actually start using the water as the EMC plan calls for all to have several administrative items in place such as water shortage management procedures. Within six months, the towns and the County have to adopt stream buffer protection rules, which Cary did this last summer.

Today’s decision by the EMC comes after more than five years of scientific study, numerous public hearings, and a cost to the Wake County group of over $750,000.

"This IBT evaluation has been--without question--comprehensive, precise, extraordinary, and unprecedented for North Carolina. That there will be no negative impacts from the water allocation and IBT increases is scientifically indisputable," Coleman added.

B. Everett Jordan Lake was opened in 1982 to provide flood control, recreation, wildlife habitat, and 100 million gallons of water a day for water supply in the region--50 million gallons of water dedicated to those on the lake’s east side and 50 million gallons designated for use by those on the west side. A 1988 study by the Division of Water Resources states that the water supply pool should provide the 100-mgd of water supply with the assumption that 50% of that water will not be returned to the Jordan Lake watershed.

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