Agenda - 03-16-2010 - 8a - Laserfiche WebLink

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• LTNC Student Chapter of Engineers without Borders (EWB) • UNC Center for Civil Rights 1 6 • The Orange County Board of County Commissioners • The Town of Carrboro, OWASA, and other interested parties. Defining the survey area was left to RENA and the EWB members. The area was defined as those homes within the "Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood" served by individual septic systems. Initially the area was thought to contain 85 homes with septic systems of which 36 homes were served by individual wells. Refinement of the data and field verification showed that there are 70 occupied homes served by septic systems and of these, 25 have private wells. It was decided that an application must be submitted by each homeowner in order to participate in the survey. This would assure that entry onto the property was acknowledged by the owner. A cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey was prepared as well. RENA members were instrumental in distributing the applications and collecting them as well as gathering information for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application. In the end, 45 applications were submitted and eleven of these homes were served by private water supply wells. Obtaining applications in advance also allowed OCHD staff to prepare file folders prior to the survey containing information about the location, age, and type of septic systems, site plans, and other information pertaining to water samples and wells. Survey teams were formed, each consisting of a RENA member, an EWB member, and an OCHD staff member. The teams were responsible for completing the four main components of the survey: • Administration of the homeowner questionnaire • Assessment of the wells with regard to protection from contamination • Collection of water samples for those homes served by a well • Evaluation of the septic tank and classification of its performance The questionnaire contained the following elements • Site information, including an approximated age of the septic system and well. • Resident information, including demographics related to wasteflow expected from the home. • Home details including number of people and the rental status. • Reports of problems with drinking water for those on a well. • Homeowner reports of septic system performance, including tank pump-out history, backups or other malfunctions. Staffing Logistics The actual field portion of the survey took four and one-half days to complete. Survey teams were formed from three to four OCHD staff members, six EWB members, three RENA representatives, and an epidemiology department representative. 286 person-hours were logged in the field assessment portion of the survey. At least that many additional hours are estimated for the preparation, planning, data management, and reporting. The RENA members spent countless hours attending meetings, distributing applications and collecting survey forms. Page 4 of 11