Rogers Road neighborhood will now have access to Orange County water lines

The Rogers Road community’s long wait for access to clean public water might now be nearing an end.

In a meeting Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Commissioners confirmed they would extend water services to 67 properties in the Rogers Road community, which are currently hooked up to backyard wells.

No timeline has been established.

The Orange County Landfill opened next to the historically black, low-income neighborhood in 1972.

Since then, residents have requested that the county counter its negative effects on their community.

“We are ensuring all residents have access to clean water,” Commissioner Valerie Foushee said.

“We are moving forward to end the burden these folks have endured for 40 years,” she said.

The board directed staff at the meeting to begin negotiations with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority for the project, Foushee said.

County Manager Frank Clifton said the estimated costs to connect the 67 properties is about $288,000 and will be covered using solid waste funds.

But some residents are hesitant about connecting.

Commissioner Barry Jacobs said some residents might not want to pay a monthly water rate after having access to a free water supply from their wells.

And the county can only pay for the water line to come to the property line, not the house itself, Jacobs said.

“We can’t pay to take it from the property line to private residences,” he said.

But other residents of the community are encouraging neighbors to take advantage of the public water services.

David Caldwell, a Rogers Road community member and project manager for the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association, said he tries to inform residents about the benefits of being connected to the water line.

“We’re giving enough information to people so that they can make an educated decision on whether they want it or not,” Caldwell said. “It’s important that they have all the good facts,” he said.

The board also decided to move forward with the cleanup of about 50 dump sites that are in the proximity of the Rogers Road community, Foushee said.

The cleanup cost is expected to be about $50,000, which will be paid for by solid waste funds, Clifton wrote in an email to commissioners.

The commissioners also voted against extending the landfill’s life past September 2013, Jacobs said.

Foushee said the board discussed plans to hold a meeting with elected leaders on or soon after Feb. 4 to talk about future plans for solid waste disposal and remediation in the Rogers Road community, as well as the plans for the landfill.

The board has expressed its intent to close the landfill in spring 2013 but has not set an official closing date, Clifton wrote in the email.

“We’ve heard it all five or six times,” Caldwell said.

“We can’t believe it until it’s locked. Then we’ll start celebrating.”

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