UNC-Chapel Hill cancels classes Tuesday because of water main break

The water system that serves Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC-Chapel Hill experienced a water main break Monday, marking the second time in two years a broken pipe has caused a major disruption.

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority , which serves more than 80,000 customers, issued a boil advisory Monday and asked customers to limit their use of water.

UNC-Chapel Hill canceled classes Monday and Tuesday.

“Please use water for essential needs only to ensure the community has water for emergency requirements,” the university said in a news release Monday evening. “System pressure remains low in some areas.”

A water line at the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant broke, the utility said Monday in a post on its website.

“The main break is actively draining OWASA’s water storage, and crews are on-site to isolate the break,” OWASA said. “Please limit consumption to essential use: drinking and basic hygiene. We must conserve the community’s water supply in case of emergency requirements.”

UNC hospital facilities in Chapel Hill suspended elective surgery Monday. Officials said facilities were receiving water shipments to handle cases in which water had to be used for hygienic purposes. Bottled water was being brought in for patients and staff.

Ambulances with emergency patients were being directed to other area hospitals, UNC said. Area EMS crews were told that UNC was on a “black diversion,” the most serious of three conditions that affect a facility’s ability to accept patients.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools also closed early because of water issues.

OWASA’s system has a capacity of 8 million gallons, which fluctuates depending on the day and season; 6.5 million gallons of water is considered normal. If the storage level falls below 2.4 million gallons, conservation measures kick in.

Monday’s water main break echoed another break reported in February 2017 that shut off water service to residential and business customers for more than 24 hours. An independent report blamed human and system errors for that incident, which started with a fluoride overfeed at the Jones Ferry Road water plant.

While OWASA was handling the Feb. 3, 2017, overfeed, it suffered one of the worst water main breaks in its history, losing 1.2 million gallons of water through a broken 12-inch pipe.

The report found that an increase in water pressure or external forces may have broken the 44-year-old pipe at the intersection of Summerfield Crossing Road and Foxcroft Drive. It was buried only 3 feet deep and just 6 to 8 inches above a storm sewer pipe.

The break and resulting water ban came ahead of a busy UNC basketball weekend in Chapel Hill and was estimated to have cost local hotels alone nearly half a million dollars. Nonprofits groups, businesses, government entities and community members responded by setting set up water donation and distribution sites.

This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 9:14 AM.