Orange County NC Website
Jim Ward said that there should be an imperative that they will not be forced into a position <br />where they need to go to Jordan Lake. He said that maybe an adequate public facilities <br />ordinance could be created for water services. He asked if this was an appropriate tool and <br />where OWASA stands on looking at same water resource before the quarry comes online. Pat <br />Davis said that there are other components in the master plan that address these issues. He <br />said that they are getting close to the crossroads of making the decisions about meeting the <br />demands for water. <br />Dan Okun said that he was with the University (retired, but still active). He read a prepared <br />statement, as follows: <br />Water Reclamation for Nonpatable Reuse: <br />An Established Urban Practice <br />By <br />Daniel A. Okun <br />My purpose here is to assure you that water reclamation for non-potable reuse is a well- <br />established approach to urban water management throughout the developed world. In fact, the <br />State of California adopted regulations for the practice in 1918 and, because the federal <br />government has na regulations, their 1968 "Title 22" has become a guide to the regulation of <br />reclamation to this date. Currently, some forty states have their own regulations. <br />In 1962, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which provide sewerage for the many <br />cities in the county, other than the City of Las Angeles, built the Whittier Narrows tertiary <br />wastewater reclamation plant. It provides water for many non-potable purposes in the service <br />area and for recharge of the groundwater. The rapid growth of population of southern <br />California, and the very limited water resources in the region, resulted in the construction of six <br />additional reclamation facilities in the county, its growth of population to about 10 million people <br />would not have been possible without water reclamation. <br />I was fortunate to be employed by the California Department of Health Services in the 197Q's to <br />review experiences with the many urban non-potable reuse projects existing then throughout <br />southern California with the aim of improving Title 22, and I have been involved as a consultant <br />in California ever since. While water is being transferred from "water-rich" northern California to <br />southern California, reclamation is now growing rapidly in the north. <br />Thirty years ago, a friend, the director of Public Works for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, <br />was faced with a problem; the state had introduced mare stringent standards for nutrient <br />removal from wastewaters being discharged to sea. We believed that they might save money <br />for wastewater treatment by reclaiming the wastewater for non-potable uses in the city. The <br />added costs would be far the addition of tertiary wastewater treatment and the creation of a dual <br />distribution system. <br />It became an instant success. Golf courses were the first users, as has been the case in North <br />Carolina, but reclaimed water is now provided for other sports fields, landscape irrigation, <br />cooling towers for power plants, air conditioning, toilet flushing, environmental amenities, <br />concrete for construction, and car washes. It is one of the few cities that designed its reclaimed <br />water system far enhancing its fire protection. <br />Despite the fact that annual rainfall in Florida is much the same as in North Carolina, urban <br />growth in Florida has been so great, it rivals California in the number of its dual systems. This <br />