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“All of the tests came back safe earlier this afternoon,” Orange County Health <br />Director Colleen Bridger said in a news release. “In light of these results, Orange <br />County Health Department is rescinding the Do Not Use order.” <br />The Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant was restarted at 6:30 p.m. <br />Saturday. The plant was shut down Thursday after a higher than normal amount <br />of fluoride was added to water at the plant. The over-fluoridated water did not <br />make it into the pipe system that serves customers, OWASA officials said. <br />They have temporarily suspended the addition of fluoride to the area’s drinking <br />water, pending a review of the incident. OWASA officials are investigating the <br />overfeed and will make a report to the community at a later date, they said. <br />The OWASA board of directors meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at 400 Jones Ferry <br />Road, and the meeting is open to the public, but Kerwin said they would not <br />likely have the after-action report finalized by then. <br />Officials were hopeful Saturday but couldn’t say with certainty that things would <br />be “business as normal” by Monday. <br />“Based on everything we know today, we don’t anticipate any potential <br />problems,” Kerwin said. “Of course, we also didn’t appreciate one of the worst <br />water main breaks we have experienced in 40 years of service to the community.” <br />Restaurants and hotels were told at 2 p.m. they were able to reopen, Bridger said. <br />“The only exception to (the do not use/drink order was) for the Apartments at <br />Midtown 501,” she said. “There are approximately 250 residents that are still <br />under a boil water advisory and we will notify them once their water is safe to <br />drink.” <br />A broken water main on Foxcroft Drive that triggered the water emergency has <br />been repaired and service restored to the roughly 250 customers there. <br />“We will know by 7 a.m. Sunday if the boil water advisory can be rescinded,” <br />Kerwin said. <br />The broken main leaked up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day after the utility, <br />Orange Water and Sewer Authority, began getting water from Durham following <br />a fluoride overfeed at its Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant. Fluoride is <br />added to water to prevent tooth decay but can be harmful in excessive amounts.