Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman wants to make sure there is an adequate local water supply for growth until OWASA's Quarry Reservoir comes online in 2035. 

The Board of Aldermen and Chapel Hill Town Council want Jordan Lake used for future emergencies only. OWASA, which wants its Jordan Lake allocation available for future droughts that may not rise to the level of an emergency, wants to amend a local agreement to allow easier water transfers.

In an e-mail to his fellow board members, Coleman says:
 

1) I believe that we should engage with OWASA and Chapel Hill to look at growth between now and the availability of the quarry 20 years hence. I suggest that we ask planning staff to meet with CH planning and OWASA planning to look at the OWASA water supply projection so as to comment on whether any particular planning for growth in the interim might be warranted to ensure that adequate water supplies continue to be available.
 
2) given that we have asserted that we support access to J Lake only as an emergency measure and given that OWASA is concerned that we might lose the allocation on that basis, I suggest we engage actively in support of that point. What I have in mind is that we and CH each designate a point person on this issue. Those people would become fully informed on the allocation process and stay in touch with OWASA as matters progress. It may be that, at some point, it would be helpful to have contact from elected leaders to the members of the Environmental Management Commission (decision-makers on the allocation) and I would like us to be prepared for that eventuality. Clearly, it would be more effective for the mayors to play any lobbying role but they do not necessarily need to be the point people prior to that time.
 

I had some questions after last night's Town Council meeting so I called OWASA today and asked planning director Ed Holland what's up with Jordan Lake. Here's what I learned:

What kind of allocation from Jordan Lake does OWASA have now? OWASA has a level 2 allocation to draw up to 5MGD (million gallons/day). Level 2 means for an unspecified future use, and the utility spends about $12,000 a year to hang on to it, more than $200,000 since 1988.

What kind of allocation does OWASA want in the future? OWASA plans to ask the state to convert its allocation to level 1, which anticipates needing the water within the next five years. The state is reviewing allocations across the Jordan Lake regional partnership, a process that could take a year or more.

How would OWASA get the water from Jordan Lake? The state no longer allows single entities to build their own intake or treatment plant on the lake. Plus OWASA could not afford that anyway. Instead the utility would pay Cary to withdraw, treat and send the water to Durham and pay Durham to send it to OWASA. 

So what's the problem? Plenty. OWASA wants to use Jordan Lake during future droughts. But 2001's Water and Sewer Management Agreement (they call it WASAMBA) restricts such transfers to emergencies (or non-emergencies if local governments that control OWASA give prior consent). Buying Jordan Lake water to prevent conservation measures and a big rate surcharge would not be considered an emergency, says Holland. (And after last night, it's doubtful that either Chapel Hill or Carrboro, which had already rejected any changes, would give their consent.)

What happened last night? The Town Council, which had previously approved the changes, reversed itself. Instead of a 7-2 vote giving OWASA the go-ahead, it voted 7-2 to take it back. (What happened? Well, council members gave their initial approval after 11 p.m.  on Feb. 28. They probably wanted to go home.)  Did the reversal surprise OWASA? "At this point nothing surprises me," Holland says.

What happens next? OWASA will regroup, try to seek a compromise. It could also withdraw from WASAMBA and pursue its long term water strategy unencumbered. But Chapel Hill and Carrboro appoint 7 of the OWASA board's 9 members, so you do the math. 

Bottom line: OWASA is probably not going to run out of water. But there's not as much wiggle room, the agency says. Drought has taught customers how to get by with less, and with growth there is less to go around. Having Jordan Lake as a backup would let the utility drain its own, cleaner lakes longer before having to take water from polluted Jordan. "We want Jordan Lake as an insurance policy," Holland says. "Our risk will increase as demand gradually grows."    

Chapel Hill Town Council members are split strongly tonight over a move to retain OWASA's ability to tap Jordan Lake water in case of an emergency and remain in the regional partnership that controls the lake's future.

OWASA came to the council to clarify language that would retain the utility's 5 million gallons per day allocation. But the move, supported by OWASA, UNC and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, ran into some stiff opposition.

Council member Sally Greene said the town has consistently opposed drawing water from the polluted lake. "That has been the position of Chapel Hill," she said. "Jordan Lake didn't need to exist, and we certainly didn't need to drink from it."

Council member Penny Rich, a former OWASA board member, remembers being told OWASA's water supply would last  50 years. "Why has that changed," she asked. "Did we make a mistake in our calculations?"   

But OWASA board Chairman Gordon Merklein and other officials said retaining the allocation wouldn't mean using it. Not acting now could jeopardize future access, they said. "If we lose that allocation we also lose our seat at the table," Merklein said.

The utility sees the lake as an insurance policy, said council members Matt Czajkowski and Gene Pease, who served on the OWASA board when the water supply hit 30 percent in the last drought. "The emergency plan that OWASA put forth was frightening," Pease said. "If you think the last rate increases were bad, these would have been geometric increases."

OWASA has paid over $200,000 since 1988 to retain its water allocation, which it has not used. The utility draws water from Cane Creek Reservoir, University Lake and will draw from the Quarry Reservoir in 2035.   

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

A draft of OWASA’s new forestry management plan opened the floodgates last night  on neighbors’ concerns that the water and sewer utility was selling out its forests.

More than 100 people filled the Maple View Agricultural Center, armed with questions about how the proposal would affect water quality, wildlife habitat and nearby homes. They also questioned why OWASA officials want a forestry management program.

“Forestry management to us is tree farming,” said Bonnie Hauser, president of Orange County Voice and a Cane Creek neighbor. “Why would OWASA want to risk the water quality – with all that heavy equipment, all that runoff, all that herbicide – for a revenue source?”

OWASA sustainability manager Patrick Davis said the agency was not trying to make money by logging the forests. In fact, a major stipulation was that it be cost-neutral, taking in no more than is spent managing the forests, he said.
The plan does advocate setting aside $200 from each timber sale to pay reforestation expenses.

“We’re experts in water and sewer service traditionally; we’re not experts in the management of our forest lands,” Davis said. “We’re here because [our] experts are telling us we need to take action.”

True North Forest Management Services, based in Holly Springs, developed the science-based forest management plan for the watershed’s long-term sustainability, Davis said. The plan also includes input from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the N.C. Division of Forest Resources.

The OWASA board’s next meeting is Dec. 9, so a revised plan may not be available for review until January, officials said.

OWASA, which provides water and sewer services to Carrboro and Chapel Hill, owns more than 3,700 acres of forested land in Orange and Chatham counties. The stewardship plan covers 17 tracts and only 1,900 acres. At least 500 acres, located primarily in Cane Creek’s riparian buffers, are left undisturbed.

Many in the crowd who questioned OWASA’s commitment to maintaining water quality standards.

Michael Hughes, who lives on Orange Grove Road, said it’s important to leave a wide-enough riparian buffer. The draft plan, which recommends buffers of only 50 feet in some areas, is not adequate, he said.

“I think that OWASA has lost its compass,” Hughes said. “As you said, you guys are experts in delivering in water; your mission is delivering good, clean water.”
Neighbors also asked how the plan would affect their privacy and views, as well as the local wildlife habitat.

Look for more on this story coming in Sunday's Chapel Hill News.

A recent study by the Orange County Health Department and UNC student groups found 10 contaminated wells and 24 out-of-compliance septic systems in the Rogers Road neighborhood.

For some time, neighbors have been asking local governments to connect them to OWASA's water and sewer systems. There is no evidence that the Orange County Landfill is responsible for well contamination, but the community has been asking for compensation for having to live with the odor, noise and traffic for nearly 40 years.

The health department wanted to apply for federal Community Development Block Grant funding last summer but didn't have the necessary data showing well and septic failure. The recent survey will enable the department to reapply this year, according to environmental health director Tom Konsler.

"There may be a need to act sooner than this," said Konsler. "There may be some needs to put some Band-Aids on some of these systems."

Most homes along Rogers Road already have public water, but among 11 households who agreed to have their wells tested, only one met Environmental Protection Agency standards for water quality. Most exceeded EPA standards for bacteria, mineral or chemical content and two contained unsafe levels of the gasoline additive MTBE.

Septic systems were tested at the same 11 homes, plus 34 additional homes that already had public water service. Among all 45 homes, more than half had septic systems that were either malfunctioning, in need of maintenance or otherwise out of compliance with regulations. Ten needed slight modifications, nine needed maintenance, and five needed replacement.

After our recent stories on sewage sludge, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority sent a letter to local governments about their biosolids program.

HOW MUCH: OWASA treats about 8.5 million gallons of sewage and generates about four dry tons of sludge per day. OWASA’s biosolids are produced according to federal and state requirements that allow their reuse as a fertilizer, according to the letter, which was sent to Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton, Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and Valerie Foushee, chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

WHERE IT GOES: OWASA has liquid land application permits for a total of 1,156 acres of farm land in Orange, Chatham and Alamance counties. Nearly 90 percent (1,013 acres) is privately owned. The remaining 143 acres are owned by OWASA as part of a 700-acre tract west of Orange Grove Road in Orange County.  The maximum amount of biosolids that can be applied to a given field is determined by the nitrogen content of the biosolids and is limited to the nitrogen requirements of the particular crop to which it is being applied. OWASA closely monitors the application rates on each individual field and, historically, has applied at rates well below those allowed by regulation.

TESTING: OWASA'S biosolids are tested for toxicity and certain other characteristics once a year; but trace metals, solids, and nutrients are measured every 60 days. OWASA monitors three times a year for groundwater contamination and measures multiple constituents in plant tissues once a year at OWASA-owned locations that receive biosolids.

The letter cites a 1996 National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council review of EPA’s biosolids management program that found biosolids presents “negligible risk” when conducted according to federal regulations.

OWASA'S CONCLUSION: “OWASA recognizes that some uncertainty still exists about the effects of certain biosolids constituents. We support further study to determine these impacts. However, OWASA also firmly believes that recycling biosolids through a properly managed program in strict compliance with State and Federal permit requirements is a safe, cost effective, and environmentally responsible way of managing this inevitable by-product of the community.”

CHAPEL HILL -- The Orange Water and Sewer Authority will consider a $34-million budget Thursday night that reflects a 9.75-percent rate increase but won't have enough money to eliminate odor at the Mason Farm wastewater treatment plant.

In their ongoing battle with OWASA over odor in their neighborhood, Highland Woods residents spoke to the Chapel Hill Town Council Monday asking them to demand the utility complete the final phase of its odor elimination project by a certain date.

That date will have to be somewhere between 2011 and 2014, when OWASA's development permit requires that all construction at the Mason Farm plant be complete. OWASA is aiming to finish the project sometime in fiscal year 2010-2011, but its board refuses to promise that, citing the uncertainty of the global economy.

OWASA chief Ed Kerwin predicted another steep rate hike after the board raised water rates 17 percent last year.

Get ready.

On May 28, the OWASA board of directors will hold a public hearing on its draft budget and  a 9.75 percent increase in monthly water and sewer rates.

The rate hike would increase a monthly bill by $6.68 (from $68.24 to $74.92) for a typical individually-metered residence using 5,000 gallons per month.  

OWASA’s draft fiscal 2010 budget includes $18.7 million for operations, $6.8 million for capital improvements and $9.7 million for bond debt payments. The operating budget includes:
- $1.7 million in cost reductions including elimination of 10 positions and freezing of eight vacant positions, deferral of a sewer maintenance program and postponement of water meter replacements;
- reduced capital spending including a one-year delay in the next phase of odor elimination improvements at the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant;
- reducing recreation days at University Lake from Friday through Monday to Saturday and Sunday, and continuing the current Saturday-only schedule at Cane Creek Reservoir; and
- substantial increases in the cost of chemicals used in water and wastewater treatment.

Without the increase in chemical costs, the draft operating budget for FY 2010 would be 6 percent less than the budget for FY 2009.

As Kerwin and OWASA said last year the budget reflects continuing low water demand and reduced revenue from new development connections due to the slow economy. Projected water demand next year is 16 percent less than in fiscal 2001, while the number of customer accounts has increased by 3,100 since then.

The May 28 public hearing will be part of a meeting at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The meeting will be televised live on local cable channel 18. All customers may also contact OWASA at webmaster@owasa.org, or by letter to 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro, NC 27510. 

From correspondent Kathryn Ardizzone:

The Board of Aldermen will consider OWASA’s new recommendations for water conservation at its work session at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Town Hall, 301 W. Main St.

WASA met with the Orange County Board of Commissioners Feb. 25 to talk about proposed changes in water conservation standards.

The recommendations retain some basic, essential conservation requirements but give consumers more choice in how they use water, even during shortages. One proposal would limit the use of OWASA water for public and private pools only in emergencies.

In a letter to the town, OWASA chairman Randy Kabrick said the changes are appropriate because customers have reduced water usage since the 2007-08 drought.

Following the discussion, OWASA representatives and town officials will work together to turn a set of standards into town law.

So I asked Ed Kerwin, director of OWASA, if he knew how much rates might go up two years from now. The utility will vote on a possible 17 percent average rate hike for the coming year Thursday night.

Another 17 percent, he said.

Or at least that's what the current rate model predicts. OWASA will have a better idea as it monitors water sales over the coming year.

You can read an extended interview with Kerwin here. In the meantime, we also asked OWASA to answer a question that came up at the June 12 public hearing. A customer asked how much UNC's water reclamation project will cost customers in terms of the new rates.

The reclamation is good because it stretches the water supply. It's bad because it decreases sales, which means OWASA has to make it up by raising rates.

Kerwin says it depends on overall demand, but right now OWASA is estimating the reclamation will equal 1.5 percent of next year's 17 percent hike (meaning 1.5 percentage points of the 17 percentage point increase) and as much as 5 or 6 percent of the following year's hike. The difference is that the system won't be fully operational until the year after the coming year.

OWASA wil discuss its budget and set new rates at a meeting Thursday night in Chapel Hill Town Hall.