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7 <br /> Timeline of Actions Taken by OWASA and the Orange County Health Department in <br /> Regards to the February 2017 Water Emergency <br /> On February 2, 2017, OWASA's water supply was disrupted by an over-feed of fluoride at its <br /> water treatment plant on the west side of Carrboro; the contaminated water was contained within <br /> an onsite storage facility (the clearwell) and was not introduced to the public water distribution <br /> system. Water was initially supplied by the City of Durham and later by Chatham County <br /> interconnections to meet demand and maintain adequate storage volumes while the water <br /> treatment plant was out of service. <br /> On February 3, 2017, in a separate but compounding event, a 12-inch water distribution main <br /> break occurred on the northeast side of Chapel Hill spilling more than a million gallons of water. <br /> Although, the break was quickly isolated, OWASA promptly issued a"DO NOT USE" directive <br /> due to concerns about its ability to maintain system pressures for water quality and firefighting <br /> needs. Shortly after, the Orange County Health Department issued "DO NOT USE" and"DO <br /> NOT DRINK" directives. These directives were not made because of excess fluoride in the <br /> drinking water. <br /> Early afternoon on February 4, 2017, after tank levels rebounded and test results confirmed that <br /> the water was safe to drink, the"DO NOT USE" and"DO NOT DRINK" directives were lifted. <br /> Between then and when the water treatment plant was restored to service on the evening of <br /> February 4, 2017, the City of Durham and Chatham County connections continued to supply <br /> water to the OWASA distribution system, and OWASA customers were asked to use water only <br /> for essential purposes. <br /> The following timeline for particular events during the water emergency is provided to make a <br /> record of the events and their timeline during the water emergency. This chronology was <br /> prepared from materials available to us as of 10:00 am Wednesday, February 8, 2017, and are <br /> subject to amendments and corrections as may be necessary in light of further investigation. <br /> February 2, 2017 <br /> 3:00 pm Fluoride overfeed discovered and confirmed by OWASA Water Treatment <br /> Plant(WTP) staff <br /> 3:22 pm Finished water pumping from WTP to distribution system is stopped <br /> 3:28 pm NC Department of Environmental Quality, Public Water Supply (PWS) <br /> notified <br /> 5:09 pm First Durham interconnection activated to maintain system pressure and <br /> meet system demands <br /> 6:00 pm News release issued by OWASA advising of the event and requesting <br /> conservation <br /> 7:22 pm Began pumping over-fluoridated water from clearwell directly to OWASA <br /> Wastewater Treatment Plant(WWTP) <br /> 8:00 pm Notified PWS of ongoing actions to empty clearwell <br /> 11:00 pm Second OWASA news release with additional information regarding event <br /> February 3, 2017 <br /> 8:00 am Third OWASA news release with additional call for conservation <br /> 9:30 am Began activation measures for second interconnection with Durham on <br /> Highway 54 <br />