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2 <br /> REPORT <br /> OUTDOOR PRIVIES IN ORANGE COUNTY <br /> This report serves as a discussion paper regarding the <br /> incidence of outdoor privies in Orange County. The paper presents <br /> information regarding identification, possible solutions and <br /> potential barriers to reducing the number of outdoor privies in <br /> Orange County. <br /> IDENTIFICATION <br /> The 1990 Orange County Census data reports a total of 279 <br /> dwelling units which lack complete plumbing facilities. (Complete <br /> plumbing facilities means a dwelling has hot and cold water piped <br /> directly into the dwelling, has a flush toilet and a bathtub or <br /> shower inside the dwelling. ) Of the 279 units, 13 are in <br /> Hillsborough (all 13 units are listed as vacant) ; 15 in Carrboro ( 6 <br /> of which are vacant) ; and zero in Chapel Hill . Preliminary <br /> computations show that the majority of the units which lack indoor <br /> plumbing are in the Cedar Grove township. <br /> By comparison, in 1989 the N.C. Rural Communities Assistance <br /> Project and the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center published a <br /> report "Living without the Basics" which estimate that 1052 <br /> dwelling units in Orange County which lack complete plumbing. This <br /> estimate was based on 1980 census data. Due to the limited <br /> information requested by the 1990 Census questionnaire, the latter <br /> estimate of 1052 -units is considered by local staff to be a more <br /> accurate reflection of this problem in Orange County. <br /> To date, there has been no comprehensive house-to-house survey <br /> conducted in the County to identify the total number of outdoor <br /> privies. This is considered to be the only way to accurately <br /> identify the number of outdoor privies in the County. This could be <br /> accomplished by several methods. <br /> 1 . Conduct a house-to-house survey to determine the number of <br /> units being served by outdoor privies. It is estimated that <br /> given eight interviewers it would take approximately twenty <br /> weeks at a cost of approximately $200 , 000. <br /> 2 . Survey human services clients receiving services from County <br /> agencies. <br /> 3 . Cross reference tax records with local utility company <br /> customer lists to identify those without public sewer service. <br /> From this number, by reviewing septic tank permit data and <br /> site surveys, the number of units without septic systems and <br /> utilize a outdoor privy could be identified. <br />