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<br />be having more of a voice in this area and that the Mill Creek area study is not covering all of <br />the areas that should be studied. He said that he has surveyed people in the Governor's Grove <br />area and every single place he has surveyed has mud in the water. He said that this water <br />cannot support the growth that is allowed to happen in this area. He said that the proposed <br />community water study parameters will cut out the Governor's Grove Area. He said that this <br />area should not be cut out, but should be looked at even more. He said that if the level of the <br />reservoir is raised, it will totally destroy the drinking water in this community. He said that they <br />need to look at getting water from Jordan Lake, which has offered 5.5 million gallons a day. <br />Chair Jacobs said that they are not building a reservoir, it is the Town of Hillsborough <br />and the Town owns its own infrastructure, and it is talking to Durham. Also, Orange County has <br />a one million gallon per day allocation from Jordan Lake and Orange County has held onto it <br />while Hillsborough and OWASA have gotten rid of theirs. <br />Edie Alfano-Sobsey is an Environmental Epidemiologist with the Public Health Regional <br />Surveillance Team in this area. She said that she would like to support the Water Quality <br />Specialist in the Orange County Health Department. She said that water is the most critical <br />natural resource. She said that the time is long overdue to be proactive in protecting the water <br />supply. She said that the Orange County staff have recognized this need far a while and water <br />quality issues impacting the citizens and the environment are complex and require a <br />multidisciplinary approach. She said that the initiative would provide the opportunity to conduct <br />scientific studies on potential water contamination and other water quality issues. She said that <br />she has assisted the County on same water quality studies, such as the Mill Creek studies. She <br />said that when the public has concerns about water, they think of the Health Department. She <br />said that anon-regulatory position would provide a means for citizens to report and receive <br />assistance with their water concerns. She asked the County Commissioners to approve this <br />position for this year. <br />Mark Sobsey is a professor of Environmental Health-Microbiology in the Department of <br />Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNC. He is a teacher and researcher on public <br />health microbiology of water, wastes, and environmental media. He is also an advisory to the <br />World Health Organization, US EPA, the State of North Carolina, and other entities. He fully <br />supports the Water Quality Specialist position in the Health Department because it will increase <br />the capacity of the Health Department to protect the public from water borne exposures and <br />possible illnesses and responding to water related health incidences. He said that many <br />counties in the country have such specialists. He said that this person could address water <br />pollution, sewage and septic discharges and spills, chemical contamination, and other issues. <br />He said that county health departments are a key resource that people turn to for health related <br />assistance and advice. He said that it seems most reasonable to have this position in the <br />Health Department and to act as a resource far other Health Department staff. He said that he <br />would welcome the opportunity to work with this person by providing technical support and <br />assistance by investigating microbial contamination situations, possible water barns outbreaks, <br />and performing water quality analyses. He said that this position would also provide <br />opportunities for his students. <br />Nancy Halt spoke about the Water Quality Specialist. She said that she wanted to <br />understand the difference between the Hydrologist and the Water Quality Specialist, so she did <br />some research. The definition of a Hydrologist is "a geologist skilled in hydrology; a scientist <br />who specializes in dynamics of watershed functions and land use. Hydrology is the study of <br />movement and distribution of water throughout the earth, and thus addresses the hydrologic <br />cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist working within the field of <br />earth, environmental science, civil, or environmental engineering." She said that she has had <br />good working relationships with Hydrologists, but this does not connect in any way to <br />community needs. She said that we can always call the USGS (United States Geological <br />Survey) for scientific questions, and that is all the science we need. She said that they have <br />