Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant

Main Office Phone: (919) 968-4421

• Located at 400 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro, the drinking water treatment plant was originally built in 1948 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which owned and operated the community's water system until February, 1977.
• The plant can treat up to 20 million gallons of raw water daily from University Lake and the Cane Creek Reservoir.
• Treatment process includes
  • Adding powdered carbon to water from the lakes to improve the taste and control odor in the water.
  • Separating solid particles from water in settling tanks.
  • Filtering the water through layers of sand and anthracite coal.
  • Disinfection with chlorine and ammonia.
• Daily water use by the 70,000 people in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community averages about 9 million gallons per day.
• Treated water is distributed to five storage tanks -- ground-level and elevated -- and through more than 340 miles of water mains.
• During drinking water treatment, solid particles are separated from the water. The solids or "residuals" from the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant are recycled by a company that uses them to help make compost and soil mixes for wholesale delivery to farmers, landscapers, and landscape supply retailers.
• To schedule a tour of the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant, please call (919) 537-4289.