Agenda - 05-03-2005-7c - Laserfiche WebLink

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CRITICAL AREAS TO ADDRESS Water is one of our most important resources because, without it, life could not exist. Many Orange County residents rely on ground-water as their primary source of drinking water, while others rely on public water supplies, but all County residents are linked b,y their reliance on pure, clean drinking water available in sufficient quantities for daily life. What the 17,years of ground-water and surface-water studies have demonstrated is that there are several water quality and quantity issues that are so critical that they should be followed up without further delay. There are also related and important public services that, if provided, could be very beneficial to the citizens of Orange County. Issue 1. Droughts and Floods In the past 5 years, Orange County has experienced an extended drought. This drought was just a particularly troublesome one, but it is certainly not the first. The County has periodically experienced water shortages for a number of years, and as the population increases and puts more demands on the available water resources, the problems can only increase. To be responsible stewards of those resources and to promote sustainability, the County and its citizens must address the problem of recurring droughts. The County has also experienced flooding after hurricanes or other large storms, Both of these extremes, droughts and floods, create challenges for the citizens and the County, and it is important to try and minimize adverse impacts and plan wisely for the future.. To address these challenges, the Water Resources Initiative proposes action in the following areas. Potential partners in the effort are shown in parentheses. A. Impact of Droughts on Ground and Surface Water Availability (ERCD, County Engineer, Planning, EMS, OWASA) Droughts can seriously affect ground water availability as well as surface-water supplies. At present, there is no reliable means to monitor the impact of drought on ground water, ar to alert the public to conserve ground water when conditions warrant, Providing a series of observation wells could help address this need, Observation wells would help point to emergent ground water supply problems. As there are various stages and classifications of drought conditions, same have greater or lesser effect an ground-water resources. An observation well network (patterned after the design in a USGS study of 1981 by Mike Winner) would allow the County to monitor ground water in storage, and to issue alerts for ground- water conservation if storage is reduced beyond expected levels attributable to seasonal fluctuation.