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1 <br /> t <br /> total number of automobiles registered in this country <br /> increased from 33 million in 1950 to 111 million in 1976. The <br /> growth of the automobile population even outpaced the <br /> significant growth in people population during that time. The <br /> United States now uses about 1.3 billion tons of lead in <br /> commerce each year, mostly as an additive to gasoline, and in <br /> automotive batteries, brake linings, and tires. <br /> It has been known for some time that lead ingestion in <br /> relatively large amounts can produce overt symptoms of <br /> illness and mental retardation. More recent evidence <br /> indicates that even lead contamination too mild to produce <br /> overt symptoms of illness can, nevertheless, do enough damage <br /> to a child's brain to interfere with mental function and <br /> classroom performance. Lead is widely dispersed by automobile <br /> exhaust and the frictional wear of brake lining and tires. <br /> Studies have discovered significant lead concentrations in <br /> the air, soil, and water in areas where automobile use is <br /> concentrated. <br /> Synthetic organic compounds (SOC) are another class of <br /> potential water pollutants. Many of these chemicals have been <br /> created only rather recently in chemical research <br /> laboratories to meet the needs a technological society. These <br /> include plastics, fertilizers, and a host of chemicals used <br /> in modern industrial processes. The number and amounts of <br /> these materials used in our society began to proliferate <br /> immediately after World War II, with over 50,000 varieties in <br /> use. New one are being invented at a rate of over 1,000 per <br /> year. Almost 35,000 of those now in use in the United States <br /> are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as <br /> being definitely or potentially hazardous to human health. <br /> The potential health hazards from SOC is considered so <br /> serious that the EPA is considering lowering from SOC <br /> thresholds to a point where a costly water treatment process <br /> called granulated activated carbon treatment would be <br /> required for most public water systems. The cost of this <br /> treatment process is so high that extreme financial burdens <br /> could be placed on smaller systems. <br /> Orange County is fortunate that its public water suppliers <br /> draw water from upland supplies. University Lake Watershed <br /> is the most developed of the six water supply watersheds in <br /> the County, sitting as it does just west of Chapel Hill and <br /> Carrboro. The watershed, along with the Cane Creek watershed, <br /> is classified by the north Carolina Division of Environmental <br /> Management as MS-I, meaning it is relatively undeveloped and <br /> 2.3 text 8 <br />