Orange County NC Website
<br /> <br />Published: 2017-02-09 18:01:00 <br />Updated: 2017-02-09 22:28:34 <br />OWASA wants to 'reestablish trust' after <br />Orange County water emergency <br />8 Images <br />Orange Water and Sewer Authority gave customers an opportunity to discuss last week's water <br />emergency during a public meeting Thursday night. <br />Last Friday, OWASA warned customers not to use their water because of concerns it could be <br />contaminated. <br />"We want to reestablish your trust and confidence in our leadership, in our employees, our <br />infrastructure and our business practices," said OWASA board chair John A. Young. <br />Officials found high fluoride levels at one of their plants, so they had to shut it down. The next day, there <br />was a 12-inch water main break. <br />The Health Department shut down restaurants and hotels on Friday night and urged OWASA customers <br />to use bottled water for about 36 hours. <br />On Saturday afternoon, OWASA deemed its water safe and said operations are back to normal. <br />OWASA said they are still trying to determine how the emergency happened. They have hired outside <br />engineering consultants to investigate what cause the fluoride overfeed and water main break. The <br />expect to receive the results on Friday.