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3 <br /> OWASA Quarterly Report <br /> February 1, 2024 <br /> Page 2 <br /> chloramine, for drinking water disinfection during this time. This annual system disinfection <br /> switch is recommended by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and is standard <br /> practice among water providers. Customers can continue enjoying their drinking water during <br /> this time. If you hear from concerned residents of your town our county, please share our <br /> contact information and we will be happy to help them: info@owasa.org or 919-537-4343. <br /> Care to Share Program: As in years past, OWASA promoted donations to the Care to Share <br /> Customer Assistance Program at the onset of the 2023 holiday season. We are grateful for the <br /> assistance provided by the Towns and County in promoting this important program. In 2023, <br /> community members donated a total of$27,758 to the Care to Share Program, one of the <br /> highest years of giving in the program's history. The program continues to be a critical lifeline <br /> for households experiencing financial hardship. Last year, over 900 households received <br /> assistance paying their water and sewer bill. OWASA's Strategic Plan includes an initiative to <br /> evaluate and update the Care to Share Program with the goal of increasing the adequacy and <br /> accessibility of customer assistance funding. The OWASA Board of Directors will be working <br /> with OWASA staff in the coming years to advance this initiative. <br /> PFAS Monitoring and Treatment: Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remain a <br /> frequently covered topic in news, continuing to spark discussions about how we can reduce <br /> PFAS exposure in all areas of our lives to protect public health. The EPA's proposed drinking <br /> water regulations would set the first limits on PFAS in treated drinking water. <br /> This quarter, following testing completed this past summer, OWASA made an adjustment at our <br /> Jones Ferry Water Treatment Plant (WTP) that is expected to optimize our ability to reduce <br /> PFAS levels using our current treatment process without sacrificing other treatment objectives. <br /> We also finalized plans for a new treatment process, including completion of small-scale testing <br /> of two industry-proven technologies for PFAS reduction in drinking water—Granular Activated <br /> Carbon (GAC) and Ion Exchange (IX). This testing simulated the long-term performance of each <br /> technology, and showed the duration of effectiveness of each before changeout of the <br /> materials would be necessary. <br /> With planning work completed, OWASA will soon engage an engineering consultant to begin <br /> detailed design of the new treatment process, including a pilot study to identify the best <br /> technology or combination of technologies. This study will run for six to 14 months at the Jones <br /> Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant, and the results will help identify the best long-term <br /> treatment option for PFAS. We expect that construction may start in late 2025 and take 24 to <br /> 30 months to complete. <br /> While our primary focus is on drinking water at this time, we continue to study PFAS holistically <br /> through our treatment processes—from our source waters to our biosolids—and participate in <br /> research that will support the science needed to reduce PFAS throughout our operations. <br />