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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS •-. 'Q <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: May 28, 2002 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. A <br /> SUBJECT: Report of the Water Resources Committee / USGS Study <br /> DEPARTMENT: ERCD PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Report of the Water Resources David Stancil, 245-2590 <br /> Committee <br /> USGS Ground Water Resource TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Investigation (provided separately) Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Discussion Notes —4/23/02 meeting Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> Mebane 336-227-2031 <br /> PURPOSE: To review and discuss the final report of the Water Resources Committee, and to <br /> review the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report, Investigation of Ground-Water Availabilitv <br /> and Quality in Orange County North Carolina <br /> BACKGROUND: On May 1, 2001, the Board received the report of the Water Resources <br /> Committee and the accompanying USGS report, Investigation of Ground-Water Availability and <br /> Quality in Orange County, North Carolina. <br /> These reports are the culmination of eight years of effort investigating and exploring the <br /> County's ground water resources. The Water Resources Committee began work in late 1992 to <br /> evaluate the County's ground water quantity and quality. During the next eight years, the <br /> Committee produced an Interim Report, worked with USGS to produce a report on ground <br /> water recharge rates (1996), and monitored and evaluated the progress of the recently <br /> completed three-year USGS study. During this timeframe, the Water Resources Committee <br /> also oversaw the initiation of a program to begin identifying all new well sites with Global <br /> Positioning System (GPS) receivers, for incorporation into the County's GIS system. Over 1500 <br /> wells have now been located and entered into the Comprehensive Resource database. In <br /> addition, the County instituted a Ground Water Center in 1996 to provide assistance to citizens <br /> with questions or concerns about ground water. <br /> The USGS report, Investigation of Ground-Water Availability and Quality in Orange County <br /> North Carolina was published in March 2001. The report includes an evaluation of the County's <br /> hydrologic setting and ground water availability, including analyses and mapping that identifies <br /> "contours" of the County based on well yields, using the database of well records. The report <br /> also conducted a comprehensive well-sampling of 51 wells across the County, weighted by <br /> geographic distribution and underlying hydrogeology. Ground water quality in the County was <br /> generally quite good, with trace elements detected infrequently or at levels less than State <br />