Agenda - 08-15-2000-9d - Laserfiche WebLink

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]7 At the present the Efland sewer system provides sewer service to approximately 110 households, businesses and institutions. The existing service area occupies approximately one-half of the area designated by the system master plan as Phase I. In 1997, Orange Caunty voters approved bond funding to expand the wastewater collection system to serve the area of Efland designated by the master plan as the remaining portion of Phase I and all of Phase II. This azea can be described roughly as being bounded by Efland-Cedaz Grove on the west, McGowan Greek on the north, the Lloyd dairy on the east and Southern Railroad on the south. Two new subdivisions (Richmond Hills and Ashwick) have proposed to expand the sewer system into At the present unnerved azeas within the existing portion of Phase I. One larger new subdivision plan (currently in the preliminary plan development and approval stage) proposes to extend the sewer service from Phase I into an area on the north side of IvicGowan Creek in the area between Richmond and Efland-Cedar Grove Roads. If Phases I and II are completed and the three proposed subdivisions are included in the system, that portion of the system will ultimately provide sewer service to approximately 500 to 600 households. If all of the entire master planned area is provided with sewer service, at build out the system will be providing sewer service to as many as 1000 households. The core components of the existing system infrastructure (pumping station, force main and interceptor mains) are designed to accommodate this level of wastewater flow. In the event that the Efland sewer system is ultimately constructed to or beyond the limits (the Buckhorn EDD) of the master plan, the system will contain at least eight pumping stations, more than 20 miles of gravity collector, interceptor and outfall lines and more than 10 miles of sewer force main. A system of this size could be projected to require the nearly full time attention of two wastewater systems maintenance mechanics with frequent use of outside contract work for line maintenance. In a utility operation of this size, the operating and maintenance demands of a Richmond Hills pumping station would be a small portion of the operating and maintenance demands of the entire system. There is some concern, touched upon earlier, that the County's decisions about how sewer service is provided to the Richmond Hills project may set precedent as to if and how sewer service is provided to other utility/development projects in the Efland area. There is a specific concern that a precedent may be created in which a developer is able to enhance or even create the development potential of a property not otherwise developable through the application of wastewater pumping technology to make a connection to the Efland sewer system. In turn, this could enhance the likelihood that Orange County will find itself with still more pumping stations to maintain, lien the probability of wastewater spills from these pumping stations, and stimulate development in areas that could not otherwise support such development. These are legitimate concerns in that Orange County has no Hiles or regulations in place to prescribe system design or extension policy oche; than general prohibitions against utility extensions into protected watersheds or where such an extension would be inconsistent with County land use, zoning, subdivision, etc., ordinances and requirements. The BOCC has outlined a goal that will eventually provide guidance for utility extension in the Efland area. However, the complexity of this goal means that it will take years to reach fnution. The County can avoid setting unintentional precedents and ensure that extensions of the Efland