Presentations from recent Drought Information Workshops presented by the Orange County H2Orange Committee are located at:
www.h2Orange.org
Note: the last two presentations are similar to what was used at the CAN Symposium, "Water: The Cycle of Life."
1. Water Resources in Orange County presented by Dave Stancil, ERCD Director, Orange County
2. Hydrogeology of Orange County presented by Rick Bolich, NCDENR, Division of Water Quality
3. Groundwater Wells and the Drought presented by Tom Konsler, Environmental Health Director, Orange County
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
GROUND WATER IN ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
With reference to conditions in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Provinces
Charles C. Daniel, March 2008
SUMMARY
1. Ground water is the most abundant available fresh water resource.
2. Ground-water systems store water and transmit water. Thus, a ground¬water system serves both as reservoir and conduit.
3. The aquifer system in Orange County is a two-part system composed of fractured bedrock overlain nearly everywhere by regolith.
4. Most ground water in the County is stored in the regolith. The average
saturated thickness of regolith is about 27 ft. On average, available water in
storage in the regolith is slightly less than 1 million gal/acre.
5. The saturated thickness of regolith varies with topographic setting and hydrogeologic unit.
6. Ground water in storage is less affected by drought than surface water.
7. Ground water is recharged by the infiltration of precipitation in upland areas.
Mean ground-water recharge in Orange County, based on data from 12 rainage basins, is 365 (gal/day)/acre.
8. Recharge varies seasonally with precipitation and evapotranspiration.
9. Ground water in Orange County is obtained primarily from wells.
10. The average well yield in Orange County is 17.6 gal/min. 90 percent of all
wells yield more than 2 gal/min, and half of all wells yield more than 10 gal/min.
11. Two areas in the county contain wells with maximum yields ranging from
25 gal/min to more than 100 gal/min. There areas are in the northwestern and
southwestern parts of the County.
Charles C. Daniel, March 2008
SUMMARY
1. Ground water is the most abundant available fresh water resource.
2. Ground-water systems store water and transmit water. Thus, a ground¬water system serves both as reservoir and conduit.
3. The aquifer system in Orange County is a two-part system composed of fractured bedrock overlain nearly everywhere by regolith.
4. Most ground water in the County is stored in the regolith. The average
saturated thickness of regolith is about 27 ft. On average, available water in
storage in the regolith is slightly less than 1 million gal/acre.
5. The saturated thickness of regolith varies with topographic setting and hydrogeologic unit.
6. Ground water in storage is less affected by drought than surface water.
7. Ground water is recharged by the infiltration of precipitation in upland areas.
Mean ground-water recharge in Orange County, based on data from 12 rainage basins, is 365 (gal/day)/acre.
8. Recharge varies seasonally with precipitation and evapotranspiration.
9. Ground water in Orange County is obtained primarily from wells.
10. The average well yield in Orange County is 17.6 gal/min. 90 percent of all
wells yield more than 2 gal/min, and half of all wells yield more than 10 gal/min.
11. Two areas in the county contain wells with maximum yields ranging from
25 gal/min to more than 100 gal/min. There areas are in the northwestern and
southwestern parts of the County.
Water Conservation Landscape Practices and Rain Barrel Resources
From Frank Hyman www.frankhyman.com
Practices:
1) Put the right plant in the right place and group plants with similar water requirements together: dry land plants together in sunny, dry sites and plants that need regular moisture together in low areas that stay wetter longer. Get a copy of The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists to help you group plants this way.
2) Put your lawn on a diet. We have a fescue "lawnlet" of less then 150 square feet that is easy to maintain. Look for my articles about lawnlets at www.carolinagardener.com and www.indyweek.com.
3) Spend the time and/or money necessary to design and install an effective irrigation system that conserves water. Soaker hoses are good for about a year to get plants established. If plants are chosen well (see item #1) then they won't need much, if any irrigation after getting established in the first calendar year. Rain barrels and cisterns are going to become standard for watering gardens. Open top rain barrels made from wooden barrels (and fed by rain chains) are good for
dipping a watering can into so you can water containers.
4) Boost the ability of the soil to hold water longer by incorporating organic matter such as shredded leaves or pine bark. In sandy soils, Perma-Till will boost the water holding capacity a great deal. In clay soils, not so much.
5) Mulch, mulch, and then top it off with some more mulch. If sunlight can strike your soil, it will cook the moisture right out of it and kill lots of plants. The smartest, most cost-effective mulch is a 2-3 inch layer of tree leaves shredded by a lawnmower. Rake the leaves onto a tarp and carry them to a work area where you can run a mower over them (set the wheels high, so the mower doesn't stall out). You'll save money and your back by not having to bend over to put the leaves in bags to be hauled off, and you'll also save money by not buying mulch that has been shipped at a great expense of fossil fuel that accelerates climate change. For desert or Mediterranean plants, you can use a 2" layer of attractive gravel as permanent mulch. Plants from these environments think a summer drought is normal and aren't as reliant on having organic matter added to the soil each year. Visit the Mad Hatter restaurant next to Whole Foods in Durham to see one of my Mediterranean gardens with a gravel mulch.
Resources:
www.gardenwatersaver.com Source for a terrific downspout diverter that lets you put rain barrels out of sight and some distance away from the rain barrel. Also redirects any overflow water back to the downspout.
www.irrigation.learnabout.info Site teaches about making homemade rain barrels.
www.rainwatersolutions.com Local source for rain barrels and cisterns.
www.kentuckybarrels.com Source for wooden rain barrels.
www.Rainbarrelman.com This guy makes kits to make your plastic rain barrel look like a wooden rain barrel.
www.waterrecycling.com Local contractor for large scale storm water management.
FORMULA TO CALCULATE GALLONS OF WATER PER SQUARE FEET OF ROOF One inch of rain = 675 gallons from 1,000 square feet of roof
To calculate number of gallons from 50 square feet of roof:
675 x 50 divided by 1000 = 33.75 gallons'
Practices:
1) Put the right plant in the right place and group plants with similar water requirements together: dry land plants together in sunny, dry sites and plants that need regular moisture together in low areas that stay wetter longer. Get a copy of The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists to help you group plants this way.
2) Put your lawn on a diet. We have a fescue "lawnlet" of less then 150 square feet that is easy to maintain. Look for my articles about lawnlets at www.carolinagardener.com and www.indyweek.com.
3) Spend the time and/or money necessary to design and install an effective irrigation system that conserves water. Soaker hoses are good for about a year to get plants established. If plants are chosen well (see item #1) then they won't need much, if any irrigation after getting established in the first calendar year. Rain barrels and cisterns are going to become standard for watering gardens. Open top rain barrels made from wooden barrels (and fed by rain chains) are good for
dipping a watering can into so you can water containers.
4) Boost the ability of the soil to hold water longer by incorporating organic matter such as shredded leaves or pine bark. In sandy soils, Perma-Till will boost the water holding capacity a great deal. In clay soils, not so much.
5) Mulch, mulch, and then top it off with some more mulch. If sunlight can strike your soil, it will cook the moisture right out of it and kill lots of plants. The smartest, most cost-effective mulch is a 2-3 inch layer of tree leaves shredded by a lawnmower. Rake the leaves onto a tarp and carry them to a work area where you can run a mower over them (set the wheels high, so the mower doesn't stall out). You'll save money and your back by not having to bend over to put the leaves in bags to be hauled off, and you'll also save money by not buying mulch that has been shipped at a great expense of fossil fuel that accelerates climate change. For desert or Mediterranean plants, you can use a 2" layer of attractive gravel as permanent mulch. Plants from these environments think a summer drought is normal and aren't as reliant on having organic matter added to the soil each year. Visit the Mad Hatter restaurant next to Whole Foods in Durham to see one of my Mediterranean gardens with a gravel mulch.
Resources:
www.gardenwatersaver.com Source for a terrific downspout diverter that lets you put rain barrels out of sight and some distance away from the rain barrel. Also redirects any overflow water back to the downspout.
www.irrigation.learnabout.info Site teaches about making homemade rain barrels.
www.rainwatersolutions.com Local source for rain barrels and cisterns.
www.kentuckybarrels.com Source for wooden rain barrels.
www.Rainbarrelman.com This guy makes kits to make your plastic rain barrel look like a wooden rain barrel.
www.waterrecycling.com Local contractor for large scale storm water management.
FORMULA TO CALCULATE GALLONS OF WATER PER SQUARE FEET OF ROOF One inch of rain = 675 gallons from 1,000 square feet of roof
To calculate number of gallons from 50 square feet of roof:
675 x 50 divided by 1000 = 33.75 gallons'
RESOURCES FOR WATER CONSERVATION
Landscaping:
www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm, NCSU Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept. /NC Cooperative Extension/Water publications/Water Use - "Wise Water Use in Landscaping"; "Drought Tolerant Plants"; "Efficient Irrigation" plus more like subjects. Also, /Storm Water - "Designing Rain Gardens" a good way to slow down water in your landscape.
www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/CIL/WRRI/uwc/xeriscape.pdf, "Xeriscape in North Carolina" published by NC Water Resources Research Institute, has list of plants for dry condition and how to create a drought tolerant landscape.
www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/. Natural Resources Conservation Service "Water Conservation in Your Backyard"
www.ces.ncsu.edu. NC Cooperative Extension/Lawn and Garden/Drought Information/ Extension's Successful Gardener; publications "Dealing with Drought", "Water Use and Landscaping", "Gardener's Guide to Protecting Water Quality" plus more like subjects.
www.smarthomeowner.com/archives "Eco-Landscaping" article
Books:
"Gardening with Native Plants of the South" by Sally&/Andy Wasowski
"Southern Gardener's Book of Lists" by Lois Trigg Chaplin
"The Dry Garden" by Beth Chatto
Rain Water Harvesting: rain barrels & cisterns
www.rainwatersolutions.com Rain Water Solutions; Durham NC -residential, commercial
www.braewater.com Brae Water; Oakboro, .NC - residential, commercial
Water Conservation:
www.watermgt.com Water Management, Inc. - water and energy conservation for businesses, housing, individuals; Alexandria, VA
www.siemens.com Siemens Water Technology - water conservation for businesses; branch in Durham, NC
www.americanwater.com Water Saving Tips
www.h2orange.org Orange County Information
Reports:
www.nicholas.duke.edu/drought - Bill Holman articles www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/waterreport.pdf The Future of Water in North Carolina, Strategies for Sustaining Abundant and Clean Water, 11/07
Climate Change:
www.ncsu.edu/wrri/publications/SECimate-Aug.2007.pdf, report by NC Water Resources Research Institute "What Experts Say about Affects of Climate Change on
Rainfall and Stream Flow in NC". .
www.nicholas.duke.edu -RobertJacksonpresentation.1/8/08 Durham Town Hall Drought Meeting, 1/8/08
www.emergingissues.org -Rajendra Pachauri, Nobel Laureate lecture, .Raleigh, .NC. 2/12/08
www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm, NCSU Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept. /NC Cooperative Extension/Water publications/Water Use - "Wise Water Use in Landscaping"; "Drought Tolerant Plants"; "Efficient Irrigation" plus more like subjects. Also, /Storm Water - "Designing Rain Gardens" a good way to slow down water in your landscape.
www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/CIL/WRRI/uwc/xeriscape.pdf, "Xeriscape in North Carolina" published by NC Water Resources Research Institute, has list of plants for dry condition and how to create a drought tolerant landscape.
www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/. Natural Resources Conservation Service "Water Conservation in Your Backyard"
www.ces.ncsu.edu. NC Cooperative Extension/Lawn and Garden/Drought Information/ Extension's Successful Gardener; publications "Dealing with Drought", "Water Use and Landscaping", "Gardener's Guide to Protecting Water Quality" plus more like subjects.
www.smarthomeowner.com/archives "Eco-Landscaping" article
Books:
"Gardening with Native Plants of the South" by Sally&/Andy Wasowski
"Southern Gardener's Book of Lists" by Lois Trigg Chaplin
"The Dry Garden" by Beth Chatto
Rain Water Harvesting: rain barrels & cisterns
www.rainwatersolutions.com Rain Water Solutions; Durham NC -residential, commercial
www.braewater.com Brae Water; Oakboro, .NC - residential, commercial
Water Conservation:
www.watermgt.com Water Management, Inc. - water and energy conservation for businesses, housing, individuals; Alexandria, VA
www.siemens.com Siemens Water Technology - water conservation for businesses; branch in Durham, NC
www.americanwater.com Water Saving Tips
www.h2orange.org Orange County Information
Reports:
www.nicholas.duke.edu/drought - Bill Holman articles www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/waterreport.pdf The Future of Water in North Carolina, Strategies for Sustaining Abundant and Clean Water, 11/07
Climate Change:
www.ncsu.edu/wrri/publications/SECimate-Aug.2007.pdf, report by NC Water Resources Research Institute "What Experts Say about Affects of Climate Change on
Rainfall and Stream Flow in NC". .
www.nicholas.duke.edu -RobertJacksonpresentation.1/8/08 Durham Town Hall Drought Meeting, 1/8/08
www.emergingissues.org -Rajendra Pachauri, Nobel Laureate lecture, .Raleigh, .NC. 2/12/08
Monday, March 10, 2008
EVENT PHOTOS
Thanks to all who came Sunday to CAN's WATER: THE CYCLE OF LIFE, "A Water Resources and the Future of Orange County Symposium."
OF COURSE WE SERVED WATER!
THE CROWD
RICK BOLICK PRESENTING
THE PANEL
Mr. Rick Bolich, NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources,; Dr. Charles Daniel, III, Consulting Hydrogeologist; Mr. Tom Konsler, Environmental Health Director, Orange County Health Department; and Mr. Pat Davis, Utility Manager, OWASA
QUESTION TIME
ALICE GORDON, ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONER; RICK BOLICH; AND CHARLES DANIEL
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