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11 <br /> 1 The academy included tours of OWASA's Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants, learning <br /> 2 more about water governance in our community, and what it takes from an infrastructure <br /> 3 standpoint to keep things flowing smoothly. The students were then able to put that knowledge <br /> 4 to work by constructing their own water treatment system during a hands-on build in OWASA's <br /> 5 operations center. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 The program is open to students in grades 9-12 in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Keep an eye out <br /> 8 for the next round of applications for the next Youth Water Academy in 2020. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 Infrastructure Investments: <br /> 11 OWASA maintains 750 miles of water and wastewater pipes, a water treatment plant, a <br /> 12 wastewater treatment plant, pump stations, and other infrastructure. Meeting the community's <br /> 13 needs and increasing system resiliency requires ongoing rehabilitation of the water, <br /> 14 wastewater, and reclaimed water systems. Capital investments, including debt payments for <br /> 15 capital projects, account for about half of our costs. In the last fiscal year, we invested about <br /> 16 $17.3 million to renew, replace and improve infrastructure. Our five-year Capital Improvements <br /> 17 Program can be viewed here. Notable infrastructure work in the past quarter included: OWASA <br /> 18 Quarterly Report January 16, 2020 <br /> 19 <br /> 20 1. Rogerson Drive Pump Station and Force Main: Large projects were completed to <br /> 21 improve electrical, HVAC, and controls at OWASA's largest wastewater pump station <br /> 22 near Cleland Drive. A major replacement of a portion of the Rogerson Drive force main at <br /> 23 Raleigh Road has also been completed. <br /> 24 <br /> 25 2. Water Main Replacement: Water line replacement on Manning Drive has been <br /> 26 completed. Work is continuing on replacement of water mains at the service road to <br /> 27 Fordham Boulevard east of Scarlett Drive and at Dobbins Drive between Erwin Road and <br /> 28 East Franklin Street. Projects to replace water mains along Barclay Road, Weiner Street <br /> 29 and Country Club Road were also recently started. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 3. Investment in Our Treatment Facilities: Construction is underway on projects to <br /> 32 improve the pumping system at University Lake and rehabilitate concrete at the Water <br /> 33 Treatment Plant sedimentation basins. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 We would be happy to provide you more detailed information on the items above or other topics <br /> 36 of interest as desired. Please feel free to contact Executive Director Ed Kerwin <br /> 37 (ekerwin@owasa.org or 919-537-4211), or me. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 Sincerely, <br /> 40 Raymond DuBose, Chair <br /> 41 OWASA Board of Directors <br /> 42 <br /> 43 <br /> 44 c. Update on the Orange County Food Council <br /> 45 The Board received an update from the Food Council about activities in the 2019 — 2020 <br /> 46 fiscal year and the proposed scope of work for the 2020 - 2021 fiscal year. <br /> 47 <br /> 48 BACKGROUND: The Food Council Coordinator was hired in July 2019. This new <br /> 49 Coordinator position was approved through an interlocal agreement process and is jointly <br /> 50 funded by Orange County, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro. The Coordinator is charged <br />