Agenda - 04-19-1993 - Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

/57_ 915 MEMORANDUM f � TO: County Commissioners John Link, County Manager FROM: Don Cox, Water Resources Comm' ttee Cha' 4!. Sharlene Pilkey, Vice-Chair } �,-_2,u.L, . "' DATE: March 23, 1993 SUBJECT: Revised Interim Report of the Water Resource Committee Please find attached the Water Resources Committee ' s Interim Report which has been revised to address the BOCC ' s questions and comments from the Board' s December 1992 Goal Setting Retreat. The report contains two main sections: 1) an outline for the process to define the groundwater resources of Orange County and 2 ) the first year work plan and budget. The Committee finds that there is a strong need to determine the existing status of ground-water quality and quantity in Orange County. In addition, the Committee believes that it is essential that we begin to analyze the impacts of human activity on this critical resource and to develop strategies to protect it . Others have gone there before us and have lost the resource for lack of foresight and planning. It is important to note that approximately forty percent of the population of Orange County is currently dependent on wells and more areas dependent on well water are being developed rapidly. Yet we have no idea how much ground water we have, where it is located or how much population or industry we can safely accommodate. The importance of the governmental role as steward of our ground- water quality and ground-water exploitation increases in direct proportion to population growth. Stewardship becomes even more critical because of the nature of the resource. That is, ground water often does not show obvious signs of overuse or water quality degradation until redress of those problems is beyond the capability of available ground-water remediation tecnology. The occurrence of isolated incidents of ground-water depletion and degradation in Orange County is a matter of record. It is prudent to assume that occurrence of such incidents will be an accelerating phenomenon in Orange County and in every other geographic area that houses a growing and technologically advanced population. The committee believes that it is essential for the future of Orange County to continue the ground-water project. To support this assertion, we ;lope that it will be possible for one or more of its members to address the BOCC at one of its future meetings to explain details of our findings . Finally the Committee wishes to thank the County Commissioners for their strong support during our deliberation= .