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6 <br />1. The 1984 plan needs to be updated. Areas to be designated Efland Transition Area, <br />Mixed Use, or Economic Development Area on the Future Land Use Map of this plan <br />(Map 30) should receive priority for water and sewer services. <br />2. An engineering study of the existing OAWS water systems should be completed. The <br />county and OAWS should work cooperatively on water supply issues. The following <br />considerations should be addressed as part of the study: <br />a) The water system area should be coordinated with sewer system areas and <br />with designated growth areas. <br />b) The water system should have volume and pressure sufficient for both potable <br />water and fire suppression purposes. Level of service standards for water <br />pressure that would be adequate for fire suppression needs should be <br />developed and adopted as part of the study process. Changes to the existing <br />system to accomplish these objectives should be identified and implemented. <br />c) A policy should be adopted requiring that future expansions to the water <br />system have adequate pipe sizes and pressure to ensure an ample water supply <br />for both potable water and fire suppression. Future growth projections must <br />be taken into account when designing the system. <br />d) OAWS has developed system capacities through agreements with other utility <br />providers and large capacity wells but how those allocations are distributed <br />from an engineering and area standpoint are yet unresolved. <br />3. A comprehensive long range Master Plan for water and sewer should be developed for <br />the Planning Area. The following considerations should be addressed: <br />a) OAWS and the City of Mebane are not parties to the Water and Sewer <br />Management Planning and Boundary Agreement (WSMPBA) which guides <br />the placement of water and sewer facilities within Orange County. Orange <br />County must act in accordance with the WSMPBA, which greatly affects <br />Cheeks Township as a large portion of the Orange County Primary Service <br />Area lies within Cheeks Township. In fact, a portion of the planning area is <br />within Orange County's Primary Service Area while other portions of the <br />planning area are outside of the Primary Service Area. This has great <br />implications on where Orange County can place water and sewer lines. <br />i. Orange County should work cooperatively with the other parties <br />of the WSMPBA, OAWS, and the City of Mebane to include <br />OAWS and the City of Mebane in the WSMPBA. Any changes <br />to the service area boundaries should be carefully analyzed <br />during this process to ensure proper and realistic boundaries. <br />ii. As part of this process, agreements among service providers <br />should be made as to where the various separate systems will <br />operate. <br />b) The Master Plan should specifically address which area(s) will receive priority <br />to encumber system capacity. Capacity should be allowed to be encumbered <br />by areas that will promote orderly growth (e.g., "leapfrogging" of the sewer <br />system should be discouraged). A policy decision regarding how capacity <br />64 <br />