Heavy rain causes Carrboro sewer spill

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No contamination in early Jordan tests

Water samples taken Thursday morning after sewage spilled into Morgan Creek showed normal bacteria levels where the creek enters Jordan Lake.

OWASA collected the samples after a broken pipe at its wastewater treatment plant dumped 450,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into the creek Wednesday night. Higher bacteria levels were found four miles up from the lake after the spill.

Orange Water and Sewer Authority officials were still waiting for the results of samples collected Thursday afternoon.

OWASA number quits working

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority's main number for incoming calls, 968-4421, stopped working about 4 p.m. Thursday. OWASA staff is working to resolve the problem.

Other OWASA numbers for incoming calls, such as the 537-4343 customer service line, are working properly.

Wastewater reuse at UNC on agenda

The public can learn more about a plan to reuse highly treated wastewater for nondrinking purposes on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus at OWASA's board meeting Thursday.

The board of directors of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority will meet at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers at Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The meeting will be televised live on the local cable systems (cable channel 18 in Chapel Hill and Carrboro).

Residents are also invited to send comments and questions to OWASA before the meeting by e-mail to webmaster@owasa.org, by letter to the OWASA offices at 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro NC 27510 or by fax to 968-4464.

10 acres protected on Cane Creek

OWASA has received a conservation easement on land in the headwaters of the Cane Creek Reservoir as a gift.

The easement from Bernadette Pelissier and Vann Bennett permanently prevents development of the 10-acre wooded parcel off Mystic Lane in rural Orange County, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority said in a release.

The easement is especially valuable, OWASA said, because it includes a portion of Cane Creek, the tributary stream for which OWASA's largest reservoir is named. Keeping land near the reservoir and its tributaries in a natural state helps protect the lake from pollution carried in stormwater runoff.

Water, sewer rates going up Sunday

This Sunday, most of OWASA's water rates will increase 6 percent, and sewer rates will increase 6.25 percent.

For a typical residential customer in southern Orange County who uses 6,000 gallons of water per month over a full year, the average water and sewer bill will increase $3.68 per month.

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority board of directors approved the rate increases in June.