How Does the Management Plan Work?

The Eno River Voluntary Water Management Plan is unique to North Carolina. The voluntary management plan provides for the allocation of available water supply between the primary withdrawers. The plan includes six stages of water withdrawal restrictions that become progressively more limiting as the remaining storage level of Lake Orange Reservoir declines. The Orange County Engineer is responsible for monitoring stream flows and initiating and rescinding restrictions during low flow periods. The Orange County Engineer reviews water release data from Lake Orange Reservoir, Lake Ben Johnston Reservoir and the West Fork Eno Reservoir to monitor established flow targets for each withdrawal stage. Allocated water withdrawers are responsible for monitoring and reporting their withdrawals to the Division of Water Resources and the Orange County Engineer.

Since its inception, the plan has been amended to adapt to varying circumstances and conditions. For instance, one provision has been modified to allow withdrawals that are greater than the maximum allowable withdrawal for a primary user when river flows are high. A share/trade agreement was also enacted to allow a user to transfer the unused portion of their withdrawal allocation to another user when needed. For example, when Piedmont Minerals shuts down during holidays, the unused allocation could be transferred to either of the remaining primary withdrawers.

Eno River Water Management Plan

Annual Meeting Reports