Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Brown said that there are a lot of solutions, but she worries <br /> that if the drought ends next year that we are going to forget about the <br /> conservation. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about reusing water. She asked if there was <br /> some reason for not using gray water (reclaimed water). Ed Kerwin responded <br /> to her question by saying that there is a risk of contamination involved in using <br /> reclaimed water. He referred to the Health Department for specifics on this. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked if people were willing to pay 25% more for <br /> water to feel less pain, what would OWASA do with the extra 25%. Ed Kerwin <br /> said that it would be used to develop additional sources of water supply. He <br /> does not know where they would go to get this. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that OWASA owns that site on Jordan Lake. <br /> John Link asked Ed Kerwin about drawing water out of the quarry and Ed <br /> Kerwin said that they have intentionally not pumped University Lake and have <br /> been pumping their quarry supply gradually into it. Otherwise, University Lake <br /> would have been dry by now. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked that the people representing the water utilities stay for <br /> a few minutes to talk about the next item. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked Environmental Health Director Ron Holdway <br /> about water conservation measures. Ron Holdway said that he has concerns <br /> that there is a dry zone in the ground that is moving down. If the rain does not <br /> catch up and wet this area again, over time a lot of wells will go dry. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about how it works with the level of the <br /> water table and the replenishment and lag time. Ron Holdway said that he has <br /> no way to predict how quickly replenishment will come. He said that the wells <br /> that are 30-40 feet would be dry shortly if they are not already. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about having someone to look at wells to <br /> see where the water table is. Ron Holdway said that to fully evaluate a well, you <br /> have to pump it and this is not advised. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about surface providers and what the <br /> County is doing for people whose wells may run dry. She said that people would <br /> obviously need help. Ron Holdway said that they have looked at consolidated <br /> education for all residents in the County and not just specific water users. There <br /> is no centralized water utility for well water users, so by default, the County has <br /> to lead the campaign. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked that the Department of Environmental <br /> Health have a contingency plan in place. Ron Holdway said that they are looking <br /> at that and there may be a delay effect on well users. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that the Board should give the Manager direction. He <br /> suggested that we do an analysis of all the fixtures in our County buildings and <br /> replace them with water conserving devices. He said that Person County is <br /> charging half price on drilling new wells because of the drought. He is thinking <br /> that some of the shallower wells may be owned by people of modest means. He <br /> would like to ask staff to talk about setting up a loan fund for these people. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that we should direct the Manager to work <br /> with Environmental Health and the Board of Health to come up with some kind of <br />