A historically black and low-income community is hoping a newly completed survey will help them gain access to the Orange County water and sewage system.
The Gillings School of Global Public Health was invited by the Rogers-Eubanks community, where the county landfill is located, to conduct a household survey of water and sewer infrastructure.
The survey showed evidence of fecal contamination and E. coli bacteria in the drinking water, although past tests funded by the county have shown no tainting.
“These are bacteria that are not harmful,” said Chris Heaney, a UNC research associate who worked on the survey. “But if they’re there, viruses that cause stomach illness would probably be there.”
Heaney said that the fecal contamination could come from a variety of sources.
The survey was funded through a grant awarded by the Program on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes, ultimately funded by the School of Public Health.
The Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association, using records provided by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, identified 73 households as part of their community. Thirty-eight households were approached and 27 completed the survey.
Robert Campbell, the co-chairman of the Rogers-Eubanks Coalition to End Environmental Racism, said their goal is to bring water and sewer services to the entire community.
“The neighborhood needs to be brought up to standards,” he said.
The community is not connected to the main lines because it lies outside the town limits of both Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
Ed Holland, the director of long-range and regional planning for OWASA, said extending water and sewer lines to the entire community would cost about $3 million.
“If anybody puts up the money, we would probably do it,” he said. “But somebody’s got to pay for it.”
Campbell and Heaney said they hope local governments will use the survey to apply for Community Development Block Grant funding for the water and sewer project.
“If there’s any information that can be used to spur the local governments in their efforts to try and get data that would be needed for a successful application, that would be great,” Heaney said.
One roadblock could be affordability. The survey states only 54 percent of residents would be able to afford the utilities.
But Campbell said the current goal is on securing the services.
“We need to get connected to the system and get to that later,” he said. “We pay for it just like every one else pays for it. We work.”
To read more about the study, visit www.rogersroad.wordpress.com.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
