Orange County NC Website
ABC news <br />North Carolina Water System Lifts <br />Do-Not-Use Status <br /> BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS <br /> <br />CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Feb 4, 2017, 5:50 PM ET <br /> Email <br />The water that serves North Carolina's flagship university is safe to drink after a broken water <br />main and problems at a water treatment plant forced the school to cancel classes and led <br />restaurants and hotels to close, health and utility officials said Saturday. <br />The Orange County Health Department and Orange Water And Sewer Authority announced that <br />the water is safe for all uses, but also told customers to limit use because supplies remain below <br />normal. <br />Additionally, one Chapel Hill neighborhood is under a boil water advisory because of the broken <br />water main, which has since been repaired. <br />The water problems forced athletic officials to move Saturday's men's basketball game between <br />UNC-Chapel Hill and Notre Dame to Greensboro, where it will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. <br />The News & Observer of Raleigh reports (http://bit.ly/2ktxQNQ) the problem began with a <br />fluoride overfeed at a treatment plant. Fluoride is added to water to prevent tooth decay but can <br />be harmful in excessive amounts. <br /> <br />In addition, a broken main leaked up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day after the utility began <br />getting water from Durham following the overfeed. <br />Orange Water and Sewer Authority kept the over-fluoridated water from reaching its distribution <br />network, and by Friday Durham was sending water to the Orange Water And Sewer Authority at <br />the rate of about 7 million gallons a day, said Vicki Westbrook, the city's assistant director of <br />water management. Chatham County also began sending water, and the Orange authority said it <br />was working with Hillsborough as well. <br />With the water treatment plant offline, water levels in the Orange storage tanks fell. And then on <br />Friday, the water main broke. <br />The loss of 1.5 million gallons from the break reduced water pressure, a health concern because <br />without pressure, water doesn't flow and harmful bacteria can more easily grow in the mains. <br />The water loss itself also meant there wasn't enough supply.