108 / 634
TOWN OF MORRISVILLE
6-14
Upper New Hope Arm - the upper end of the reservoir (above Hwy 1088) and the
watershed draining to it
Lower New Hope Arm - the part of the reservoir below Hwy 1088 and above the Jordan
Dam (excluding the Haw River Arm) and the watershed draining to it
Specific nutrient reduction targets for each of these arms are expressed as loading targets
and percent reductions compared to the estimated annual average load from 1997 through
2001. A portion of the Town falls within the Upper New Hope Jordan, which has the
following percent reduction requirements:
Upper New Hope Arm – 35 percent reduction of nitrogen and a 5 percent reduction in
phosphorus compared to the baseline 1997 through 2001 levels
The Jordan Rules also have specific guidance for both point and nonpoint sources, including
agriculture existing development and new development. In general, the agriculture and
existing development guidance requires achievement of the percent reductions as an
aggregate from that source, for example, existing development in the Upper New Hope
Arm watershed as a whole must reduce nitrogen load by 35 percent. New development has
specific loading targets similar to those in the Neuse NSW Rules. They are as follows:
Upper New Hope Arm - limit nitrogen unit area mass loading from new development to
2.2 lb/ac/yr and limit phosphorus unit area mass loading from new development to
0.82 lb/ac/yr
Developers have the option to offset their nitrogen loads by funding offsite management
measures. Single Family residential development must first achieve 6 lb/ac/yr onsite and
then developers can buy down the difference. Other developments (commercial, multi-
family, industrial, etc.) may buy down after achieving 10 lb/ac/yr onsite. Implementation of
the Jordan Rules regarding nutrient management have been delayed by the State until 2016
to allow for the completion of a pilot in situ nutrient management study. The existing
development portion of the rules was also further delayed by the legislature. In February
2012 the Town voluntarily began implementing the Jordan Rules applying to new
development throughout the Town’s jurisdiction (including the Neuse Basins areas).
The Jordan Rules also require the preservation of a 50-foot-wide riparian buffer on all
surface waters in the watershed, including intermittent and perennial streams, lakes, ponds
and reservoirs. The portion of the regulation relating to buffers was not put on hold. The
buffer component of the Jordan Rules are applied by the Town in the Cape Fear River basin
as well as Neuse River basin, as discussed in Section 6.2.
6.1.20 Water Supply Watershed Protection Program
The EMC, NCDEMLR, and NCDWR have administered a WSW Protection Program since
1986. Initially, the program was administered voluntarily by counties and municipalities
pursuing protective measures for their water supply watersheds. The measures included
limitations on the number and type of wastewater discharges that were allowed in the water
supply watersheds.
In 1989, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified the WSW Protection Act, codified as
General Statutes 143-214.5 and 143-214.6. The WSW Protection Act mandated the EMC to