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18 <br /> Background - Development of ULW Standards <br /> The standards recommended by OWASA and the Town of Chapel Hill for Cane Creek <br /> Watershed are currently in place for the University Lake Watershed, and are <br /> considerably more restrictive than standards which apply to the remaining watersheds. <br /> The more restrictive standards pertaining to the ULW were based on the final <br /> recommendation of a technical study performed by Camp, Dresser and McKee in March <br /> of 1989. Interim standards which prohibited use of alternative septic systems were <br /> adopted in October of 1989 and the current standards, which also include lot size and <br /> impervious surface limits, were adopted in April of 1990. There is no precedent in <br /> Orange County for recommending or adopting more strict interim or permanent <br /> watershed standards pending the preparation of a technical study. <br /> The technical study for the University Lake Watershed did, however, include the <br /> following statement relating to land use controls in the Cane Creek watershed: "In the <br /> absence of a Cane Creek Reservoir watershed management study, preliminary evaluations <br /> suggest that adequate water quality protection can be achieved through less stringent <br /> controls than are required for University Lake. At this juncture, we would recommend <br /> that consideration be given to a preliminary non-structural management strategy <br /> consisting of 2-acre single-family lot zoning." <br /> RECOMMENDATION- The Planning Staff recommends application of a two-acre <br /> minimum lot size throughout the Cane Creek Watershed, as recommended in the study <br /> prepared for the University Lake Watershed. Also recommended are impervious surface <br /> limits as provided in the revised sliding scale previously discussed. Further consideration <br /> will be given to recommending more stringent standards upon completion of the technical <br /> study for Cane Creek, if so recommended by the Study. <br /> Due to the low level of residential development activity in Cane Creek Watershed, the <br /> Planning Staff finds that the application of the standards proposed will not have any <br /> measurable detrimental effect on water quality, even if higher standards are <br /> recommended upon completion of the technical study. Development activity in the Cane <br /> Creek and University Lake Watersheds between 1985 and 1993 is summarized in the table <br /> below. Although both watersheds contain about the same area, more than three times <br /> as many lots have been created in the University Lake Watershed than in Cane Creek. <br /> 14 <br />