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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 17, 2009 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. (p ~ C <br />SUBJECT: Rogers Road Eubanks Neighborhood Association Request for a Well and <br />Septic Survey <br />DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Letter of Request to Health Director <br />from RENA <br />2) Policy 1.0 Requests for Environmental <br />Services and Assessments <br />3) Draft Survey Proposal <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Rosemary Summers, 245-2411 <br />Tom Konsler, 245-2360 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approving the Rogers Road Eubanks Neighborhood Association <br />(RENA) request for a community water and septic system study by the Health Department. <br />BACKGROUND: The Health Director has received a formal request for the Health Department <br />to conduct a survey of the neighborhood wells and septic systems (see Attachment 1). <br />In accordance with the Board of Health's Policy 1.0 Requests for Environmental Services <br />and Assessments (see Attachment 2), this request meets the criteria for County funding for <br />additional departmental operating expenses, projected to be approximately $3,500. This policy <br />was reviewed and amended by the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 2006 and <br />adopted by the Board of Health in 2006. <br />The draft survey proposal (Attachment 3) is an outline of a survey plan and is still a work in <br />progress. Staff has worked with the community (RENA) and with the UNC School of Public <br />Health to organize a well and septic survey using collaborative survey teams. This should help <br />offset the County staff resources which would otherwise be needed. The majority of the out-of- <br />pocket costs are for the water bottles for well testing from the State public health laboratory for <br />the 36 homes with drinking water wells. Collaboration with Engineers Without Borders through <br />the School of Public Health may also provide volunteer labor to repair septic systems and wells <br />that may be identified as needing repairs. <br />The Health Department's objective in the survey is to assure that community residents have <br />adequately constructed drinking water wells yielding safe drinking water and that septic systems <br />are functioning properly to ensure adequate protection of the groundwater. Repairs and <br />treatment systems rmay be recommended to bring systems up to functioning capability. To the <br />