OWASA Set to Begin Water Line Project

At its Thursday meeting, the commissioners authorized OWASA to acquire construction easements for the project. The construction will extend water service to Orange County landfill properties and the Rogers Road community that abuts the landfill.

The easements will allow OWASA to lay water lines on private land without buying the land. The total cost of the easements is not expected to exceed $30,000 of the $550,000 the county has allotted for the project, said County Engineer Paul Thames.

Assistant County Manager Rod Visser said the municipal governments of Chapel Hill and Carrboro reached an understanding with Orange County in April 2000 -- when the county took over management of the landfill -- that public funds would be used to complete primary construction on the water line.

"We felt that folks who lived in the vicinity should receive some benefits for supporting the landfill in their neck of the woods for (the past) 25 years," Visser said.

Residents also have expressed concern about landfill contaminants seeping into nearby private wells. Visser said there was no evidence of contamination.

While county officials expressed relief that the project would soon be under way, questions lingered about unresolved project issues.

Commissioners questioned county staff about the origin of funding for expenses that Rogers Road residents who choose to link their homes to the municipal water supply will incur.

Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis said officials must next determine whether the county should use public landfill funds to pay various residential connection fees and costs associated with upgraded plumbing in private homes.

No decision was made in April regarding availability and connection costs, which could run as high as $300,000, according to a Dec. 7 memo issued by Thames. This figure would be an addition to the $550,000 of public funds already allotted for the project.

The Solid Waste Advisory Board is responsible for making funding recommendations to the commissioners, Visser said. But SWAB is first working with the community to evaluate community members' water needs and perspectives on main construction.

Visser, who acts as a liaison between SWAB and the commissioners, said a meeting between county staff, Rogers Road community members and OWASA and SWAB representatives is scheduled for Jan. 25 at the Chapel Hill Sanitation Department. He also said SWAB would make its recommendation to the commissioners regarding the request for additional water availability and connection funding by April. But for now, OWASA will proceed with procuring easements.

Commissioner Margaret Brown said the county would work piecemeal until the situation is fully resolved. "SWAB will take a crack at things, and we'll take a look at what they do. We'll do the water line and, as we do that, we'll work on the other issues."

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