RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law on Wednesday the last part of the legislation to complete passage of the Jordan Lake Nutrient Strategy – a set of rules designed to restore and maintain water quality and protect the lake by reducing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the reservoir.

Jordan Lake serves as a vital water supply and recreational area for communities in central North Carolina.

The strategy consists of 13 rules adopted by the Environmental Management Commission in May 2008. The regulations address a wide range of potential contributors of nitrogen and phosphorus including wastewater, stormwater from new and existing development, agriculture and commercial landscaping activities. A requirement for 50-foot waterside buffers throughout the watershed and options for offsetting nutrient loads are also included.

Eight of the rules were not changed and became effective Aug. 11. Four of the remaining rules – those regulating wastewater discharges, stormwater management for new development, buffer protection and stormwater management for state and federal development – were changed but also became effective Aug. 11. The rule requiring reductions in nutrient loading from existing development was replaced by legislation that became effective June 30.

Implementation dates for existing development requirements for local, state and federal entities, as well as the wastewater nitrogen compliance date, are set out in the new legislation. Otherwise, implementation timelines set out in each of the rules are now in effect.

The Jordan Lake watershed includes parts of 10 counties in the rapidly developing Triangle and Triad: Rockingham, Caswell, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Chatham, Durham, Wake and small areas of Randolph and Forsyth. There are 26 municipalities in the watershed including Greensboro, Burlington, Haw River, Mebane, Chapel Hill and Durham.

Jordan Lake has been troubled by excessive nutrients since its impoundment in 1983. Nitrogen and phosphorus make their way to the lake from wastewater discharges, rainfall runoff from agriculture and stormwater runoff from new and existing development throughout the watershed. An abundance of nutrients drives excessive growth of microscopic algae that give the water a green, murky appearance. It also causes taste and odor problems in potable water and robs the water of oxygen. These impacts increase the costs associated with drinking water treatment, make the water unattractive for recreational uses and may cause fish kills.

The rules represent the first comprehensive program to deal with nutrient impacts from this area and will be implemented during the next few decades.

Workshops are scheduled for Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 for local government staff, consultants, engineers, surveyors and landscape architects. To learn more about the workshops and the rules, visit the DWQ Web site at: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/nps/JordanNutrientStrategy.htm.