Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
0 3 <br /> Findings <br /> On March 25, 1985, the task force reviewed topographic <br /> maps of the Eubanks site. Harold Harris, who was at that <br /> time Chapel Hill's Director of Public Works presented <br /> general information as part of this review and explained <br /> that the engineering of landfill trenches at the site was <br /> controlled by several factors: the contour of the land; the <br /> location of rock formations; and the depth of local <br /> groundwater. Task force members noted that the original <br /> engineering site study included no information on subsurface <br /> geology or hydrology. <br /> Water Quality Protection <br /> City water and sewer have not been extended to the <br /> neighborhoods surrounding the landfill . Residents there <br /> rely on private wells for their water and on septic tanks <br /> for their sewage disposal . At that same March 25 meeting, <br /> Harris responded to questions regarding the protection of <br /> streams and groundwater by explaining testing at the site <br /> and reporting that water moving across the site was tested <br /> as it came onto the site and as it exited. According to <br /> evidence presented by Harris, the tests had not indicated <br /> any problems. <br /> Ground and surface waters at the Eubanks landfill are <br /> tested quarterly by Research and Analytical Laboratories, <br /> Inc. of Kernersville, NC. Samples taken from monitoring <br /> wells around the site and from surface water sources are <br /> tested for potential groundwater contamination due to <br /> landfill activites. The test data are then analyzed from <br /> three perspectives: (1) the levels of chemical constituents <br /> found are compared to the maximum concentrations allowed by <br /> the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ; (2) the levels <br /> of constituents found are compared to levels contained in <br /> the groundwater outside the zone of landfill activities; (3) <br /> the levels of constituents found are compared over time. <br /> A compilation of these reports (May 20, 1985, Appendix <br /> E) showed no increase since 1978 in the organic and <br /> inorganic parameters used to determine water quality. One <br /> report did indicate that effluent from an on-site disposal <br /> well had been leaking into local groundwater . This well <br /> was used in the servicing of landfill equipment and for <br /> other landfill related activities. It has since been filled <br /> and disposal wells are no longer used. <br /> After surveying the quality of water in 13 private wells <br /> neighboring the landfill area, the County Health Department <br /> reported that, "in light of similar chemical and <br /> bacteriological results from samples throughout the county, <br /> these findings are not at all unusual, nor should they be <br /> conditions considered unique to the landfill area." <br /> Spillage. Speeding and Uncovered Trucks <br /> Roads leading to the entrance of the regional landfill, <br /> especially Eubanks and Rogers Roads, are usually heavily <br /> littered. This problem may be due in part to poor <br />