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23 <br /> Prepared by: <br /> Orange County Health Department <br /> February 2010 <br /> Rogers — Eubanks Area Survey Report <br /> Well and Septic System Assessment <br /> Orange County NC <br /> Background <br /> In June of 2009, Orange County was pursuing an application for Community Development Block <br /> Grant funding from the State of North Carolina for sewer infrastructure improvements to the Rogers <br /> Road neighborhood. The Orange County Health Department(OCHD) was asked to provide a <br /> statement of need based on reports of widespread septic system failures in this area. Although there <br /> had been multiple surveys in the past in this area regarding well water quality, there had been no <br /> survey of septic system performance. The University of North Carolina (UNC) and the Rogers <br /> Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) had earlier conducted a collaborative investigation of <br /> water quality, however those results were not available for consideration. A statement was <br /> submitted by the Orange County Health Department; however it lacked important information that <br /> could only be provided by conducting an on site survey of septic system performance and failure <br /> rates. <br /> Staff met several times in 2009 with representatives of RENA, UNC student chapter of Engineers <br /> without Borders, UNC Epidemiology Department, and others to explore the neighborhood's <br /> concerns and to eventually plan a survey of wells and septic systems. In October of 2009, Minister <br /> Robert Campbell submitted a request to the Orange County Health Director on behalf of RENA to <br /> conduct a survey of the area to document well and septic system failures. In November the Board of <br /> County Commissioners approved funding to pay for water sampling costs for the survey. Staff <br /> subsequently received approval for reimbursement of the sampling costs to be paid by the state's <br /> Bernard Allen Memorial Emergency Drinking Water Fund. <br /> Geographical Description <br /> The Rogers- Eubanks community is located in southeastern Orange County and borders the northern <br /> boundaries of the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The area is primarily residential with a <br /> mixture of rental homes and owner-occupied homes. The one non-residential property is a church. <br /> The homes in the defined survey area are located along both sides of Rogers Rd, Purefoy Drive, <br /> Rusch Rd, Leak Lane, and Sandburg Lane. An additional single property is accessed from Eubanks <br /> Rd. The neighborhood is characterized as predominantly African-American residents with 85% of <br /> the survey respondents reporting an income level ranging from very low to moderate. <br /> Page 2 of 11 <br />