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

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Based on the information reviewed, the Water Resources Committee has arrived at a number of informal but critical conclusions or findings, summarized below, which have convinced the members of the committee to reaffirm the intent of the Commissioner's water resource investigation goal and to recommend that Orange County proceed with the investment of the financial and staff resources required to pursue the water resource investigation. • Finding 1. Potable water is a finite resource in Orange County. The availability of potable water is an issue that has both public health and economic development ramifications. A scarcity of potable water hinders the economic development potential of the County, while a decline in either quantity or quality represents a potentially serious public health problem. • Finding 2. Ground-water and surface-water quantity and quality issues are inextricably interrelated in that ground water represents the source of fifty percent of average stream flow. However, currently available knowledge and expertise on quantity, quality, protection and management issues is far less advanced than that achieved in regard to surface waters in Orange County. It is essential that future efforts to expand and develop the overall water resource database - and the level of expertise needed to evaluate and manage the resource -be focused on the ground-water resource. • Finding 3. Generally, ground water is considered a reliable source of potable water in terms of both quantity and quality. Although there have been isolated incidents reflecting ground-water quality and quantity problems, there is currently no documentation of widespread problems with either ground- water quantity or quality in Orange County. However, as the population grows and human activities increase within the County, the potential for degradation of this relatively unspoiled resource also increases. In spite of a heightened awareness of potential problem, there is very little existing documentation which addresses the vulnerability or sensitivity of Orange County's ground water to any particular threat. • Finding 4. The lack of adequate knowledge regarding the quantity and quality of ground water hinders the development of public policy or programs of citizen education necessary to insure that the resource is properly developed, managed and protected. In a similar vein, the lack of adequate ground-water knowledge forestalls the evaluation of the long term utility implications of existing and proposed development patterns within the County. • Finding 5. Communities in North Carolina and other states have begun ground-water resource investigations to establish a technical iasis for ground-water development and management programs. These investigations relied on technical expertise provided by both staff and outside experts. The US Geological Survey and other governmental/private agencies are possible contract sources of technical expertise, particularly in the effort to acquire, analyze and map technical data involving the yield, and movement and transport of the ground-water resource.