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Residents urge moratorium on mega-subdivisions, warn of well depletion and infrastructure strain
Summary
Speakers told the commission that proposed Morrow Mill and Austin Quarter cluster subdivisions could require high-capacity wells and septic systems that risk drying neighbors’ wells, increase daily vehicle trips and impose long-term costs for schools, roads and emergency services.
Multiple residents asked the Alamance County commissioners to pause approval of large cluster subdivisions on Morrow Mill Road and Austin Quarter Road until the county studies water, septic and infrastructure impacts.
Laura Streitfeld told the board the two proposed projects could bring roughly 956 new homes and nearly 10,000 daily vehicle trips in an area lacking water and sewer. She said wells in the area often produce only a few gallons per minute and cited a U.S. Geological Survey recharge rate that, she said, suggests high-capacity wells could dewater neighboring pockets of fractured rock.
Dr. Elizabeth Hilborn, a water-quality expert who testified with a hydrogeologist, warned that the area lacks a defined aquifer and that wells are located in fractured rock pockets that can be dewatered by nearby high-volume wells. She cited a USGS report (2005) describing an example where a development’s high-capacity wells dewatered older wells within a mile or more, and warned that drought conditions broaden the radius of impact.
Ida Dash (student and resident) and other nearby homeowners raised safety and public-safety-service concerns including narrow roads that are not suitable for fire trucks, septic failure risks, flood-plain siting and loss of farmland and heritage properties.
Several speakers urged a temporary moratorium on approval of large-scale land-use projects in unincorporated parts of the county until staff can study water withdrawals, septic impacts, traffic, emergency-service capacity and school-site needs. Planning staff and some commissioners said the county is reviewing HIDO provisions and may propose ordinance updates, but noted that some projects are already in advanced application phases where moratoria may be limited by law.
The board did not adopt a moratorium at this meeting; commissioners encouraged staff to continue reviewing rules and possible ordinance updates to address cluster development concerns in rural areas.
