Orange County NC Website
John Link referred to the third bullet on page 6 and said that his staff is <br /> starting to get information about rest homes and family care homes that are on <br /> wells that are out in the County and to try and solicit water services for these <br /> people. The goal is to keep the people where they are and bring the water in if <br /> needed. He is pleased that his staff is doing this. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis asked how much water is coming out of Lake <br /> Orange as of today and how much water is coming out of Hillsborough. <br /> Paul Thames said that about 600,000 gallons a day is being released to <br /> Orange-Alamance, 500,000 gallons a day is being released to Hillsborough, and <br /> 200,000 gallons a day is being released for Piedmont Minerals. He said that they <br /> are probably releasing about a million and a half gallons a day. <br /> Commissioner Halkiotis verified that when we go to stage 6 that the <br /> 200,000 for Piedmont Minerals goes away and the allocation to Orange- <br /> Alamance gets cut in half. <br /> Paul Thames said that with the County's releases, we are having <br /> tremendous in-stream losses. It may be altogether about 40%. <br /> Commissioner Brown expressed her congratulations to Eric Peterson for <br /> the Town of Hillsborough taking such drastic measures in water conservation. <br /> She said that all of the County Commissioners are on wells and the public is <br /> concerned. She is wondering about some water companies with the inability to <br /> supply water to their customers. <br /> Eric Peterson said that Hillsborough has not made any plans as far as well <br /> drilling. They would not rule that out, however. <br /> Commissioner Brown said that she hoped we would all work together <br /> about water issues and the possibility of drilling wells. <br /> Chair Jacobs talked about having a follow-up to the water summit and <br /> having the towns do it and talk about groundwater. He said that everyone has a <br /> different set of stages from each other about water restrictions. He asked what <br /> would happen if Durham gets to 30 days and asks OWASA for water. We all <br /> need to be on the same page. <br /> Commissioner Brown asked about helping people with water and talked <br /> about year round water conservation. <br /> Paul Thames said that Central Purchasing uses water from the roof to <br /> flush the toilets. He said that OWASA has been investigating wastewater reuse. <br /> Commissioner Gordon spoke about groundwater and how we could <br /> advise people. She said that it is difficult to know what your situation is until you <br /> are about ready to run out of water. She wondered if there was anything more <br /> that we could do in terms of educating the public. <br /> Chair Barry Jacobs suggested finishing with Orange-Alamance and <br /> OWASA first. <br /> Brady Goforth from Orange-Alamance Water Systems said that they have <br /> adopted conservation measures similar to Hillsborough and have reached an <br /> agreement to purchase water from Graham and are looking for other sources. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked how the purchase of water would affect the rates. Mr. <br /> Goforth said that this may affect prices but has not yet. They may have to <br />