Complete

Conversion to AMI infrastructure was completed in 2019. The oldest meter in the system is at the UNC Cogeneration Facility.

All critical valves (12-inch and larger, approximately 1,300 in the system) are scheduled to be exercised annually. The remaining valves are exercised on a 5-year cycle.

OWASA inspects and repairs hydrants as needed. Additionally, local fire departments also inspect and operate hydrants annually.

While OWASA does not have a formal leak detection program, we use AWWA's Water Audit software to evaluate water loss in our system and report a monthly KPI on unaccounted-for water. Per the annual water audit, our water loss in FY 2024 was 16.9 gallons per connection.

As part of our affordability program, we perform water audits as requested and as resources allow. Our AMI software enables us to proactively let customers know when a leak may be occurring behind the meter. In CY 2024, the system provided our customers with 20,950 notifications of possible leaks.

Single-family residential rates are increasing block; multi-family rates are uniform based on analysis which indicated that the group does not exhibit a traditional peaking pattern; all other rates are seasonal. During droughts, drought surcharges apply to all rate types.

Reclaimed water (RCW) is used mainly by UNC and UNC Hospitals in cooling towers and for chilled water. Some reclaimed water is also used to irrigate athletic fields and for toilet flushing. RCW has helped reduce our peaking factors for potable and raw water demands and meets over 10% of our water demand.

Our interconnections with the City of Durham, the Town of Hillsborough, and Chatham County can provide enough water to meet our current average daily water demands.

Population based on April 2020 U.S. Census data for the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. We estimated the number of dwelling units served outside the town boundaries using information available in our GIS database, available data on the number of dwelling units served by master-meters outside of the town boundaries, and average persons per household for Chapel Hill and Carrboro shown in the 2020 Census.

The majority of system process water was used to flush distribution lines (approximately 0.07 mgd). Approximately 0..05 mgd of WTP filter was discharged to the sewer system. We recycled approximately 0.42 mgd at the WTP for treatment plant processes.

A mutual aid agreement with the Town of Hillsborough was signed in 1988. There is a section which states that once the Cane Creek Reservoir was online, OWASA expected to be able to provide a maximum of 2 mgd during the original term of agreement, which was 5 years and renews automatically each year unless terminated. This is not viewed as a contractual obligation and is not included as a contractual amount in the table above. Mutual aid agreements with the Town of Cary and the City of Durham have expiration dates and would need new agreements to extend those dates. OWASA and Cary are not directly connected but can provide water to each other by wheeling water through the City of Durham. The interconnection described above with the City of Durham is based on our larger interconnection with Durham near I-40. We also have a second interconnection with Durham that is served by a 12-inch pipe at Hwy 54.

Yield calculations for Cane Creek Reservoir (CCR), University Lake (UL), and the offline Quarry Reservoir do not reflect 50-year safe yield but rather are based on using the system to maximize water supply by following operating curves (actual operation may deviate from these curves due to varying quality in reservoirs or CIP projects). The estimated yield assumes the following: 1) drought of record (2001-2002), 2) estimated storage adjusted for sediment, 3) 20% storage held in reserve for extreme drought or emergency conditions (i.e., yield is based on 80% of storage), and 4) minimum release from CCR based on 404 permit (minimum release is 2.78 cfs at all times when inflow to reservoir is 3 cfs or greater and is equal to inflow when inflow is less than 3 cfs). There is no minimum release from UL.

Jordan Lake: OWASA has a Level 1 allocation of 5% of the water supply pool (approximately 5 mgd) that we can access through our mutual aid agreements with the Town of Cary and the City of Durham and through the Cary/Durham and Durham/OWASA interconnections. We updated our Long-Range Water Supply Plan in 2022 and Jordan Lake is identified as the best alternative to meet our long-term water supply needs. OWASA is working with the City of Durham, Town of Pittsboro, and Chatham County through the Western Wake Partnership to invest in a new intake, water treatment plant, and transmission infrastructure to meet long-term needs.

We flush our interconnection with the Town of Hillsborough approximately every two months to ensure it is operational and ready to use should we need it. The flushing water comes from Hillsborough but does not enter our distribution system. In 2024, we flushed a total of 0.35 MG.

OWASA completes an annual Operating Trends Report, which is typically provided to the Board of Directors at their October meeting and is published on our website. This report includes an analysis of future peak day projections of our WTP (and projected max month at our WWTP) to ensure we are preparing for needed hydraulic capacity expansions of our treatment facilities.

The flows above reflect wastewater effluent discharges to Morgan Creek and do not reflect reclaimed water (RCW) flows, which account for approximately 10% of our water demands on an annual basis. We also use RCW around the WWTP for certain uses such as filter backwash. We also have bulk RCW sales which are not included in the water sales data provided in Section 1.

The number of water service connections with septic systems is estimated from an in-depth analysis we did of our service area to identify parcels not being served by water, sewer, or both and reflects those parcels which are served only by OWASA water.

Demand projections were updated in 2019 based on population and employment projections developed by Carolina Pines Regional Council (formerly TJCOG) for regional transportation planning. Unit demands (use per dwelling unit or square feet of non-residential space) were estimated from OWASA customer billing data. Demand projections for our LRWSP assumed a given percentage for system process and unaccounted-for water combined (10%).

OWASA currently has an allocation of 5% of Jordan Lake's water supply pool, but does not have guaranteed, permanent access to it. We can access it on an emergency basis by purchasing water from the Town of Cary and wheeling that water through the City of Durham. OWASA recently completed an update to its Long Range Water Supply Plan and identified Jordan Lake as the best alternative to meet our future needs. We are currently working with the City of Durham, the Town of Pittsboro, and Chatham County to plan, permit, and design a new intake, WTP, and transmission infrastructure.

In 2000, OWASA purchased property adjacent to its existing Quarry Reservoir. This land is currently being quarried through a leasing arrangement with plans to cease all quarry operations by December 31, 2030. After the conclusion of quarry operations, OWASA will connect the two quarry cells to expand the Quarry Reservoir for increased water supply.