Orange County NC Website
6 <br />March 6, 2008 <br />Barry Jacobs, Chair Mark Chilton, Mayor <br />Orange County Board of Town of Carrboro <br />Commissioners 301 West Main Street <br />P.O. Box 8181 Carrboro, NC 27510 <br />Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br />SUBJECT: OWASA RECOMMENDATIONS TO LOCA <br />WATER CONSERVATION STRATEGIES <br />Kevin Foy, Mayor <br />Town of Chapel Hill <br />405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd <br />Chapel Hi11, NC 27514 <br />,L GOVERNMENTS REGARDING COLLABORATIVE <br />Dear Chair Jacobs, Mayor Chilton and Mayor Foy: <br />At the February 14, 2008 OWASA Board of Directors meeting, we received and strongly endorsed the enclosed <br />recommendations regarding Water Conservation Priorities and Initiatives for collaborative action by the Town of Carrboro, <br />Town of Chapel Hill, Orange County and OWASA. These recommendations result from the efforts of the interlocal staff <br />workgroup, which was formed to evaluate potential conservation strategies for joint consideration. <br />On November 9, 2007 we provided you with a preliminary draft of the interlocal staff workgroup's recommendations and <br />report. We very much appreciate your respective board's support for your staff's continuing participation in this important <br />effort. <br />The most significant recommendation that the OWASA Board strongly supports is the call for OWASA to require all <br />development and redevelopment to submit water use efficiency plans and to install state-of--the-art water saving fixtures and <br />devices as conditions of receiving OWASA water and/or sewer services. We believe this "conditions of service" approach will <br />best ensure increased water use efficiency in all new development within our community. <br />Additional near-term recommendations which we support include local governments and OWASA pursuing and/or continuing <br />our collective commitments to "lead by example" by incorporating state-of--the-art conservation measures into all of our public <br />properties, where cost-effective, and by establishing sustainable landscaping guidelines and requirements as local government <br />policies. The recommendations also include longer-term actions, such as establishing requirements for the use reclaimed water <br />where it is available in the future. <br />We request your Boards' endorsement of the conditions of service approach and associated recommendations, and your support <br />for your respective staffs to continue working with OWASA staff to develop a proposed implementation plan including <br />timetable, funding and other resource needs, roles and responsibilities, etc. We have prepared a draft resolution for your <br />consideration regarding this matter. ' <br />