Orange County NC Website
Proposed Wastewater Transfer from Durham <br />September 7, 2007 <br />Page 2 <br />OWASA would not incur capital costs for construction of the system, and Durham would be <br />treated the same as any other third party developer regarding requirements to connect and <br />introduce wastewater into our system. <br />The collection system would be built to Durham's standards and specifications up to the point <br />where the act<ial connection is made with the OWASA system. <br />Durham would be responsible for all operations, maintenance, repair, and any future replacement <br />of the collection system and its components up to the point where their collection system <br />connects to OWASA's system. <br />If OWASA were to accept wastewater flows from this development or any other development <br />outside of the OWASA service area, OWASA would be committing the necessary facility <br />capacity and applicable nutrient mass load to meet the needs of that development. That means <br />such capacity and nutrient mass load will not be available to meet OWASA's own customers' <br />needs. That certainly is an important concern, especially in light of the very strict nutrient mass <br />load limits the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has proposed to protect <br />Jordan Lalce water quality. For this particular request from Durham, OWASA staff believe these <br />effects are offset by the fact that Durham previously agreed to accept wastewater flows and <br />nutrient loads from almost the exact same number of residential customers that OWASA serves <br />in the Piney Mountain Subdivision. <br />ACTIONS REOUIl2ED <br />Durham's request represents a "wastewater transfer" according to the Water and Sewer <br />Management, Planning, and Boundary Agreement, to which OWASA is a party along with <br />Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Orange .County (Section III, Definitions: A <br />Wastewater Transfer is "Any transfer from one wastewater service provider to another <br />wastewater service provider'). <br />If approved by the OWASA Board, this transfer would also require approval by the Carrboro <br />Board of Aldermen, Chapel Hill Town Council, and Orange County Commissioners (Section <br />VILC. "Wastewater transfers are only permitted with the approval of the Orange County <br />Board of Commissioners and the elected or appointed boards of the service providers <br />providing the transfer If OWASA is the service provider, approval must come from the <br />OWASA Board of Directors and the elected boards of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Orange <br />County.'). <br />CURRENT SITUATION <br />OWASA staff recommended to the OWASA Board of Directors on August 23, 2007 that they <br />approve and support Durham's request. The OWASA Board took no action during that meeting, <br />and instead requested that Durham report to the Board regarding whether this is the only <br />development in this .area (and the entire area where the OWASA and Durham service areas <br />