Background/Purpose of Request:
The primary source of water for municipal water systems within Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender Counties is the raw water intake just above Lock & Dam #1 on the Cape Fear River. These low water dams were initially built to facilitate commercial navigation on the Cape Fear River but have not been used for commercial navigation in many years. Consequently, the US Army Corps intends to divest themselves of all three Locks & Dams on the Cape Fear River and transfer these to an entity capable of maintaining them.
The state of North Carolina has issued a Letter of Intent to acquire the Locks & Dams and has stated that they would treat all uses equally (water supply, water quality, fish passage, recreational, and aquatic habitat). The state’s position that the Lock & Dam System’s use for recreational purposes or fish passage should be given equal weight as its use as a water supply is of significant concern to the utilities that use the river as source water in providing treated water to over half a million people in the region and who have invested millions of dollars in infrastructure. The regional utilities recognize the importance of the Locks & Dams for recreation, fish passage, and aquatic habitat, but note that its preeminent use is as a water supply for the region. This has led to the Fayetteville Public Works Commission to also issue a Letter of Intent to acquire the Locks & Dams on behalf of the utilities in the region. The resolution encourages the state and federal government to recognize water supply as the preeminent use of the Lock & Dam System and to manage it accordingly. The resolution also supports the Fayetteville Public Works Commission Letter of Intent to acquire the Lock & Dam System.
Staff recommends approval of the resolution.
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