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As of mid-afternoon, OWASA was working to restore the Jones Ferry Road Water <br />Treatment Plant to normal operation as soon as it is safe to do so, and to repair the <br />water main break. But the treatment plant’s output will require testing, and the utility <br />can’t process water from its two reservoirs until the plant’s back on line. <br />The problem didn’t have any direct effect on Hillsborough’s water system, which is <br />separate from OWASA’s with its own treatment plant and reservoir. <br />Hillsborough officials nonetheless advised their customers to conserve water because <br />the town was working to provide water to OWASA. Engineers were flushing a line that <br />connects to the OWASA system and reckoned they’d able to deliver water to OWASA <br />by Saturday morning. <br />The flow from Durham will continue, Westbrook said. <br />“The initial timeframe they gave us yesterday was 72 hours,” she said. “We haven’t had <br />a discussion since then that it would be any longer, but for sure it won’t be any shorter.” <br />She added that sending 7 million gallons a day to OWASA “is not a stretch” fo r the <br />Durham system, given that it’s midwinter. Between Durham’s own use and the OWASA <br />draw, “for us it’s like summertime demand,” she said. <br />Both Chapel Hill and Carrboro declared formal states of emergency, which will allow <br />emergency steps to be taken and funding to be used where needed, officials said. It <br />also is the first step in seeking state and federal support, if necessary. <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials announced early Friday they would close <br />schools, releasing elementary students at 1:30 p.m., middle school students at 2:10 <br />p.m., and high school students at 2:55 p.m. All after-school programs also were <br />cancelled.