Agenda 4-a - OWASA Annual Update Presentation

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OWASA Annual Report 4 January 29, 2019 Page 3 Jones Ferry Road. OWASA is also meeting with community partners to understand their unique needs and collaborate on solutions. 2. Water supply The North Carolina Drought Monitor currently does not have any drought advisories issued in North Carolina. The OWASA Board and staff continuously monitor conditions and always encourage wise use of water resources. In 2018, OWASA recorded the highest year of local rainfall on record(as compared to 128 years of rainfall data that OWASA has on file). Rainfall at the WTP in Carrboro measured at 74.74 inches. This is 27.57 inches above the 128-year average of 47.17 inches per year. OWASA has also measured rainfall at Cane Creek Reservoir since 1992, which has averaged 44.64 inches annually. 2018 was also the wettest year at Cane Creek where rainfall measured at 67.67 inches. As of January 22nd, our reservoirs (Cane Creek Reservoir,University Lake and Quarry Reservoir)were 100% full. While experts believe the southeastern United States will receive in the future about the same amount of rainfall as 2018, on average, the rainfall will likely be provided in more severe storms and flooding events with more severe and prolonged droughts in between. OWASA has a Water Shortage Response Plan and a Drought Response Operating Protocol which guides our decisions to ensure we work proactively with the community in case of drought conditions. In 2018, OWASA continued to work with utility neighbors through the Jordan Lake Partnership. The JLP began work on regional drought and emergency response planning in 2018 and will continue this work under the newly formed Triangle Water Supply Partnership. OWASA is also updating its Long Range Water Supply Plan to ensure we have water to meet our needs through 2070. 3. Water quality OWASA published its annual water qualityport card and was pleased to share that in 2017, we met or surpassed all Federal and State standards for drinking water quality, including requirements to test for over 150 substances. Throughout the reporting year, OWASA treated about 2.5 billion gallons of water, an average of 6.8 million gallons per day. Elsewhere in North Carolina, some utilities reported in their water high levels of GenX, a compound belonging to a group of man-made chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). In January 2018, OWASA proactively tested local water samples for PFASs levels in our treated drinking water, as well as our raw water sources (reservoirs). Results showed that GenX was not present in any sample. For treated drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)has established a lifetime health advisor 1�for two PFASs (PFOS and PFOA) at a combined level of 70 parts per trillion(ppt). Low levels of PFOS and PFOA, below the EPA's advisory level, were detected in OWASA's treated water samples.