Agenda - 03-20-2001- - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM TO: County Commissioners Hillsborough Town Council FROM: Paul Thames, PE, County Engineer DATE: March 16, 2001 SUBJECT: Background and update an Efland sewer system and sewer expansion issues Historical Bac~k.~round y In the early 1980's, an environmental and public health crisis compelled Orange County to begin a process of creating amunicipal-type sewer utility that would provide wastewater collection for the Efland-Cheeks Elementary School and the Efland Estates subdivision in western Efland. An engineering study (the Efland sewer master plan) advised the Orange County Board of Commissioners that, although the problems with existing on-site waste treatments systems were the worst in western Efland (at and near the Efland-Cheeks Elementary School), the entire community -- from Buckharn Road to the Eno River -was at risk for such problems. In a process designed to evaluate the extent of a potential customer base for the Efland sewer system, the County obtained commitments from approximately 170 sewer customers for nearly 200 sewer connections. This exceeded the recommendations of the master plan study, which indicated that a customer base of at least 17d households/businesses would be required for the sewer system to function as a self sustaining enterprise operation. Orange County moved forward with the task of creating a sewer system far Efland. Simultaneously with the processes of system design, funding acquisition, etc., the County entered into agreements with Hillsborough (ta accept and treat the wastewater flow), the Orange-Alamance Water System (ta provide billing and collection services enforced by its power to terminate water service) and OWASA (to provide maintenance and repair services for the central pumping station, sewer and force mains and other equipment). Construction began on the system in 19$7 and the system became operational in October 1988. The initial customer base consisted of approximately 11 S sewer services (some of which were not actually connected to the system but were billed anyway) generating approximately 15,000 gallons of wastewater flow per day. Funding constraints limited the initial sewer construction project to one which could provide sewer service only to those in the area most seriously afflicted by failing on-site waste treatment systems. However, as this area contained only just over half of the requested sewer services, an obligation to provide sewer service for those who request service were left without it remained. Accordingly, Orange County included $1,200,000 for an expansion of the Efland sewer system to serve central Efland (around the intersections of US 70 with Efland-Cedar Grave and Brookhollow Roads) in the 1997 bond campaign.