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News Release Archive

2013

• Normal disinfection of drinking water with chlorine and ammonia ("chloramines") resumed on April 1
• Please give the gift of life! Blood drive at OWASA on April 18th, 11 AM to 3:30 PM
• Part of southbound lane of Smith Level Road will be closed on Monday, April 9th
• Part of southbound lane of Smith Level Road will be closed on Monday, April 8th
• Chlorine taste and odor in our water in March and early April due to annual change in disinfection; how to remove chlorine taste/odor
• Our offices will close on March 29th for the Good Friday holiday
• Some lanes at Cameron Ave. - South Columbia St. intersection to be closed Wednesday and Thursday, March 13 and 14, due to OWASA work
• Ruth Rouse begins work as OWASA's Planning and Development Manager
• Donors needed--blood drive at OWASA on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 11 AM to 3:30 PM
• Limited number of customers in east Chapel Hill may notice discoloration and pressure changes on Tuesday and Wednesday due to testing
• Our offices will close on Monday, January 21st for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

2012

• Our offices will close for the New Year's holiday, but personnel will be on call for service emergencies
• Offices close for Christmas holidays
• Dusty Martin, Water Treatment Plant Operations Supervisor, wins State-wide award as A-Surface Operator of the Year
• Testing of interconnections among OWASA, Durham and Cary water systems, Dec. 11-12
• OWASA tests sewers with non-toxic smoke
• Offices close for Thanksgiving holidays
• Water tank in Carrboro will be cleaned and inspected starting on Wednesday, October 31st as part of normal maintenance
• OWASA begins use of Twitter (Nov. 2)
• Halloween Blood Drive (Wednesday, Oct. 31)
• University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir will be open for recreation on Labor Day
• OWASA offices close for July Fourth holiday, but University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir will be open for recreation
• DROP-OFF PROGRAM FOR UNUSED MEDICATION on Wednesday, June 13 from 3 to 7 PM at the University Mall parking lot (South Estes Drive, Chapel Hill)
• John Kiviniemi joins OWASA as Wastewater Treatment and Biosolids Manager
• Cane Creek Reservoir and University Lake will be open for recreation on Memorial Day (Monday, May 28)
• Citizens invited to public hearings at 7 PM on May 24th regarding OWASA's proposed budget and rates; no increase in monthly rates is proposed.
• Medication take-back program sponsored by the UNC Department of Public Safety at Hospital Drive from 2 to 4 PM on Saturday, April 28th
• Blood drive at OWASA on Thursday, April 26th
• University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir are open for recreation
• Annual mowing and clearing of easements to help prevent wastewater overflows
• OWASA repair to affect northbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Bolin Heights Drive on Tuesday from 9 AM to mid-afternoon
• Offices closed for the Good Friday holiday (Friday, April 6th)
• Plans for water service relocations on Martin Luther King Jr.Blvd.
• OWASA responds to 2,000 gallon wastewater overflow near Albany Point in Chapel Hill
• OWASA asks customers to check for and fix leaks
• OWASA responds to 200-gallon wastewater overflow near Caswell Road in Chapel Hill
• Blood Drive at OWASA on Friday, February 24th from 11 AM to 3:30 PM
• OWASA responds to wastewater overflow near Ephesus Church Road in Chapel Hill
• Our offices will close on Monday, January 16th for the Martin Luuther King Jr. holiday
• Offices close for the New Year's Day holiday (January 2nd, 2012)

2011

• Blood drive at OWASA on Thursday, Dec. 29th from 11 AM to 3:30 PM
• Offices close for the Christmas holidays but employees will be on call for service emergencies
• OWASA Board to meet with NC Water Resources Official on Thursday night, December 8th, regarding Jordan Lake Water Allocation Process
• Our offices will close Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holidays but employees will be on call for service emergencies
• Water tank near the west end of West Cameron Avenue to be cleaned as part of normal maintenance
• Lake recreation season will end this weekend (November 12 and 13); our lakes will reopen in March, 2012
• OWASA receives Platinum Award for Utility Excellence from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
• OWASA offers paperless billing and on-line account access
• Kenneth Loflin, OWASA's Manager of Water Supply and Treatment, wins Operator of the Year award from the NC Waterworks Operators Association
• Results of OWASA’s triennial testing for lead in tap water: below the detectable level of 3 parts per billion
• Umstead Drive reopens for normal traffic
• Donors needed at annual Halloween Blood Drive on Friday, October 28th; blood supplies have dropped to critical levels
• The part of Umstead Drive from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Umstead Park is open for normal traffic
• Terri Buckner joins the OWASA Board
• Ms. Dana Stidham and Will Raymond join the OWASA Board of Directors
• Our lakes will be open for recreation on the Labor Day holiday (Monday, Sept. 5)
• Blood drive on August 25th is dedicated to Engineering Technician Sandy Beckham in honor of his 32 years of service
• Village Drive - Umstead Drive intersection will close from August 15th to November
• OWASA distributes annual report on treatment and recycling of wastewater and biosolids
• OWASA offers the choice of larger monthly donations to the Taste of Hope Customer Assistance Program
• OWASA issues annual Water Quality Report Card
• Our offices will close for the holiday on Monday, July 4th; the Cane Creek Reservoir and University Lake will be open for recreation
• Donors needed for blood drive at OWASA on Thursday, June 23
• OWASA responded on Wednesday, June 22nd to a 2,500 gallon wastewater spill near Concordia Court in Chapel Hill
• OWASA becomes the ninth water utility in the United States to receive the "Excellence in Water Treatment" award from the Partnership for Safe Water
• Monthly water and sewer rates will increase 2% in October
• University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir wil be open for recreation on the Memorial Day holiday (Monday, May 30th)
• OWASA invites customers to comment in public hearings tonight (Thursday, May 26th) on the proposed FY 2012 budget, 5-year capital improvement program and proposed rate increase
• OWASA enhances on-line account information in "Manage My Account" webpages
• Medication  Drop-Off Program on Wednesday, May 18th at University Mall
• Umstead Drive will be closed to through traffic until this fall due to sewer replacement project along Bolin Creek from bridge near Greene Street (east of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) to Estes Drive
• OWASA resumes annual mowing and clearing of sewer easements
• John A. Young joins the OWASA Board of Directors
• Donors needed for blood drive at OWASA  on Thursday, April 28th
• Sewer project will affect Umstead Drive starting in May, help prevent wastewater overflows
• OWASA offices and University Lake closed for the Good Friday holiday (April 22)
• OWASA to receive drinking water from Durham on Thursday (April 14, 2011) due to work at the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant
• OWASA resumes drinking water disinfection with chlorine and ammonia; some chlorine taste and odor may be notieable in early April
• Our 2011 lake recreation season has begun
• OWASA reports lakes rise from 78% to 83% (April 1 news release)
• Customers may notice chlorine taste and odor in our water in March and early April because of an annual change in disinfection
• Operation Medicine Drop Off for safe disposal of unused medication--March 24th in Hillsborough
• Donors needed for Blood Drive on February 24th
• Our offices will close on Monday, January 17th for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
• How to protect pipes from freezing

2010

• Our offices will close on Friday, December 31st, for the New Year's holiday
• Our offices will close for the holidays from December 22nd through the 24th
• OWASA invites citizens to comment at community meeting on Tuesday, November 30th on draft plan for sustainable management of OWASA's forest lands
• Thanksgiving holidays
• OWASA responded to a wastewater overflow of about 515 gallons on Monday, November 22, 2010
• OWASA seeks comments by November 11, 2010 on proposed Water Shortage Response Plan
• Halloween Blood Drive on Friday, Oct. 29
• Refinancing $22 million of bonds will save $2.3 million over 17 years
• Labor Day holiday
• Smoke testing in early September
• July the Fourth holiday
• Annual budget and rate decisions in June
• Smoke testing of sewers in June
• Public hearings May 27th on proposed budget, capital program and rate increase
• Water Quality Report Card including laboratory test results for 2009 calendar year
• OWASA resumes disinfection of drinking water with chlorine and ammonia
• Good Friday holiday
• Lakes reopen for recreation on Saturday, March 27
• Chlorine disinfection of drinking water in March (annual change)
• Community meeting on Feb. 24, 2010 regarding draft forestry management plan for OWASA land north of Cane Creek Reservoir
• Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday, January 18th
• Protecting water pipes from freezing in cold weather
• New Year's Day holiday

2009

• OWASA honors the late W. Everett Billingsley, the utility's first Executive Director
• OWASA phone lines temporarily out of service night of December 16th
• OWASA's lakes filled on December, 9, 2009 for the first time since June 15, 2009
• Offices closed for Thanksgiving holiday
• Sewage overflow near Rosewalk Lane in Carrboro on November 11, 2009