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20 <br />WTMP Expansion Proposal . <br />Board of Health Decision Summary <br />November 19, 1998 <br />BACKGROUND <br />The discussion paper that follows was presented to the Board of Health at its regular <br />meeting on November 19, 1998. After deliberation, the Board decided that it would <br />forward the following options for Presentation to the Board of County Commissioners for <br />its goal setting retreat in December 1998. The Board directed the staff to place emphasis <br />on why the expansion is needed in Orange County. <br />EXPANSION NEEDED TO <br />1. Protect and promote public health and preserve natural resources by. <br />• Protecting watersheds and all other surface waters. <br />• Protecting groundwater. <br />• Lessening the chance of disease transmission from failing septic. systems. <br />2. To lessen the financial impact of repairing individual septic systems by- <br />• Extending the average septic system life countywide. <br />• Preserve all available repair strategies an individual sites. <br />3. Public sewer moons into certain areas of the County will not be a viable <br />option in most instances in the future. Septic systems must then be viewed as a <br />perpetual utility; not a stopgap until sewer arrives. <br />BOARD OF HEALTH DECISIONS FROM DISCUSSION PAPER <br />1. Entry into the Program: The Board chose option 3 (Water Quality Critical Areas) as <br />the preferred starting point The following reasons were cited <br />• This approach best effects the actions necessary to meet the goals of protection <br />and promotion of public health for all citizens of the County and to preserve the <br />natutal resources by tackling older neighborhoods with higher rates of failures <br />and also by starting with the water quality critical areas of the designated <br />watersheds and expanding to coverage outward from the impouadments. Both <br />rural and town dwellers benefit immediately from this approach and may realize <br />cost savings over the long haul fi om increased average septic system life or <br />relatively lower water treatment costs. <br />• The latest dram of the Water and Sewer Boundary Task Force agreement allows <br />for sewed extension only in dire circumstances in many areas of the County. This <br />approach may be the best method for discovery of situations that are degrading <br />but are still fixable so that public sever extensions are not indicated. It also sets <br />the stage for those systems going in, either new or replacement, to realize a <br />maximum life span and provides better assurance that all repair strategies are kept <br />intact <br />• New and repaired system owner, while not set for re-inspection before 5-10 years <br />form the date of installation approval, would still receive tailored educational <br />materials at the time they begin to use their system.