1999 NS Water and Sewer Management Planning and Boundary Agreement 9-7-1999

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Orange Water and Sewer Authority February 11, 1999 Page 20 William Strom said the notion of OWASA extending lines into an interest area to remedy an adverse public health emergency has'signiGcant impact on potential for sprawl and potential for making land developable that does not per e. Mr.Strom said his understanding is that the sizing of lines is a tool that attempts to restrict tap-ons and avoids unattended consequences of remedying a health emergency. William Strom said he is comfortable with the language in the agreement that the lines should be sized to address that emergency if that is possible. Patrick Davis said a concern was raised with the Piney Mountain Subdivision project. There were engineering sizing requirements and constraints at the State of North Carolina level that required the infrastructure to be sized for peaking factors that were mandated by the State and would impact this issue. Mr.Davis said the way to address It would be to point out that it is sized to serve only the intended use but in accordance With the sizing requirements determined by the State. Patrick Davis said implications should be recognized if the decision is made to limit capacity. Mr.Davis said there is also a related issue that has to do with improvements and Iines that have excess capacity. For example,the Rangewood Subdivision's force main had to be 4",the pump station had to be a certain capacity, and when that is done there is automatically_excess capacity because the pump stations only pumping a certain number of hours during the day. The agreement is structured so that if Orange County wanted to locate a school facility or a human resource center and hook onto the force main to take advantage of the excess capacity,the agreement would prohibit. that from occurring. An investment already made could not be used more cost-effectively to support public facility development. Patrick Davis said there ought to be the ability to use lines and facilities that serve public emergencies in appropriate ways to support essential public facilities. Alan Rimer said OWASA could probably meet the volume and pressure considerations with a 4"water line to serve a community of houses with problems. Fire protection could be provided if the size is increased to 671. Mr. Rimer suggested that the benefits of fire protection be considered. Alan Rimer asked Robert Epting If it is possible to restrict who taps on to water lines. That gets to the point of increased facility needs for the public for fire protection but'prohibits houses from connecting. Robert Epting said the Chapel Hill Town Attorney and the Orange County Attorney have a friendly disagreement on that point. Orange County by its ability to require building permits controls tap-ous. Mr.Epting said OWASA could get special authority In that regard if it needed it. However,many developers could see that as a method for limiting development. Robert Epting said if tap-ons are restricted,how can the lines be afforded to serve a few people who are experiencing the problem if the only way to run the lines is by assessment. William Strom said in response to sizing the lines to accommodate fire, there is an "avoid sprawl"mentality. It is in the preambles in Orange County's Comprehensive Plan. Mr.Strom said that if someone buys a house in the watershed where there is no fire service and the community has a water emergency,he does not feel an obligation to provide fire service along with rescuing them from a water problem. Orange County can restrict building permits and control zoning, there is turnover on the various boards and different political will exists. It seems that utility growth takes on a life of its own and if capacity is there,it usually gets used over a period of time. Patrick Davis said once lines are extended to alleviate a public health hazard, there should not be a prohibition on connection of essential public facilities. The Board was in agreement that the following are the unresolved issues: 1. Is the Town of Hillsborough in or out and what does that mean?; 2. Does the Board agree that OWASA should enter into an agreement to dcGne the retail service area?; - gyp. 32