Boil water order lifted for most OWASA customers

Most customers of Orange Water and Sewer Authority got word Tuesday afternoon that their water was again safe to drink.

Posted 3:35 p.m. Nov 6, 2018 — Updated 10:33 p.m. Nov 6, 2018

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Most customers of Orange Water and Sewer Authority got word Tuesday afternoon that their water was again safe to drink.

A water main break in Carrboro Monday morning prompted a system-wide boil water order, forced schools to close and saw UNC Hospitals reroute some trauma patients.

By Tuesday, the hospital had established a system of bottled water and alcohol-based hand sanitizer to return to normal. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools held class as scheduled Tuesday and classes were set to resume Wednesday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After the main break sent water flooding into Jones Ferry Road, OWASA asked customers to boil water before using it for drinking, cooking or bathing.

Linda Low, OWASA communications and community relations officer apologized for the inconvenience.

"We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience that this event has caused the community," Low said. "We know that water is essential in all matters of daily life.It was our critical priority to stop the leak and getting the water storage tank levels back up to normal capacity."

It was the second time in two years that OWASA customers were left without water. In February 2017, too much fluoride in the water treatment plant on Jones Ferry Road and a separate, major water main break knocked out service for about 24 hours.

The resolution was incomplete for about 75 OWASA customers at three Carrboro locations. The utility notified those customers directly to continue to boil their water.

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