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CRITICAL AREAS TO ADDRESS <br />Water is one of our mast important resources because, without it, life could not <br />exist. Many Orange County residents rely on ground-water as their primary <br />source of drinking water, while others rely on public water supplies, but all <br />County residents are linked by theirreliance on pure, clean drinking water <br />available in sufl<cient quantities for daily life. What the ?7 years of ground-water <br />and surface-water studies have demonstrated is that there are several water <br />quality and quantity issues that are so critical that they should be followed up <br />without further delay. There are also related and important public services that, if <br />provided, could be very beneficial to the citizens of Orange County. <br />Issue 1. Droughts and Floods <br />In the past 5 years, Orange County has experienced an extended drought. This <br />draught was just a particularly troublesome one, but it is certainly not the first. <br />The County has periodically experienced water shortages for a number of years, <br />and as the population increases and puts more demands on the available water <br />resources, the problems can only increase. To be responsible stewards of those <br />resources and to promote sustainability, the County and its citizens must address <br />the problem of recurring droughts. <br />The County has also experienced flooding after hurricanes or atherlarge storms. <br />Both of these extremes, droughts and floods, create challenges for the citizens <br />and the County, and it is important to try and minimize adverse impacts and plan <br />wisely for the future. To address these challenges, the Water Resources Initiative <br />proposes action in the fallowing areas. Potential partners in the effort are shown <br />in parentheses. <br />A. Impact of Draughts on Ground and Surface Water Availability <br />(ERGO, County Engineer, Planning, EMS, OWASA} <br />Droughts can seriously affect ground water availability as well as surface-water <br />supplies. At present, there is no reliable means to monitor the impact of drought <br />on ground water, or to alert the public to conserve ground water when conditions <br />warrant. Providing a series of observation wells could help address this need. <br />Observation wells would help point to emergent ground water supply problems. <br />As there are various stages and classifications of drought conditions, some have <br />greater or lesser effect on ground-water resources. An observation well network <br />patterned after the design in a USGS study of 1981 by Mike Winner) would allow <br />the County to monitor ground water in storage, and to issue alerts for ground- <br />water conservation if storage is reduced beyond expected levels attributable to <br />seasonal fluctuation. <br />2 <br />