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23 <br /> B3. Groundwater <br /> Data <br /> Private wells account for the water supply for approximately 40 percent of the population <br /> in Orange County.' Approximately 350 new drinking water wells are constructed every <br /> year in Orange County. <br /> The Orange County Board of Health adopted the state's first local well construction <br /> programs in North Carolina in 1980. The scope of this program has since expanded to <br /> encompass groundwater protection. The well construction standards exceed those of the <br /> state's 2C Well Construction Regulations with respect to the type and amount of casing <br /> required in new well construction and have more stringent well siting criteria. In 2008, <br /> the groundwater protection program in Orange County will be expanded to require more <br /> inspections of wells during construction and will require sampling of all new wells. <br /> Potential sources of ground water contamination include leaky storage tanks, septic <br /> systems, hazardous waste sites, and landfills. <br /> Documented groundwater contamination events in Orange County are illustrated below. <br /> Most of these contamination events are due to leaking underground storage tanks for <br /> home heating oil and petroleum products. <br /> Ground Water Contamination Incidents in Orange County <br /> N 6 <br /> C <br /> � 5 <br /> C 4 <br /> O <br /> 3 <br /> .G <br /> E 2 <br /> 7 <br /> Z 1 <br /> 0 <br /> 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 <br /> Figure 12, 133-1: Ground water contamination incidences in Orange County2 <br /> Well Water Quality <br /> The Orange County Health Department provides sampling of private wells to assist <br /> homeowners in assessing the safety and quality of their drinking water. Samples are <br /> analyzed at the State Laboratory of Public Health and results are reported to the well <br /> owners. The following paragraphs represent the results of private well sampling from <br /> 2002 to 2005. <br /> ' Investigation of Groundwater Availability and Quality in Orange County,North Carolina. U.S Geological <br /> Survey Available at:httpY/nc.water.usgs.gov/rel2orts/wri004286/pdf/rei)ort.pdf <br /> 2 North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Division of Water Quality.Groundwater <br /> Section.Available at:http://its.enr.state.no.us/owi/.(Accessed May 2007) <br />