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4 <br /> OWASA Quarterly Report <br /> February 1, 2024 <br /> Page 3 <br /> OWASA's Board of Directors approved a PFAS community communications plan in December <br /> 2023 that will guide OWASA's community engagement and education around PFAS. The plan is <br /> intended to establish a common understanding of OWASA's actions to address PFAS in our <br /> community's drinking water with three primary objectives: <br /> • Our community knows how to access accurate, timely information on PFAS in drinking <br /> water; <br /> • PFAS information shared with the community is accurate; and <br /> • PFAS information we share is valuable to our community. <br /> The plan, which will launch this month, includes collaborations, public meetings, publications, <br /> and web content. <br /> Drinking Water Service Line Inventory: The EPA's Lead and Copper Rule was revised in 2023 <br /> and requires all water systems to inventory both the public and private service lines in their <br /> service and develop a plan for the replacement of any lead pipes discovered through this <br /> process. Service lines are the drinking water pipes that connect properties to the water main <br /> that is typically under the street. The rule also requires the identification and replacement of <br /> any galvanized lines that might have potentially been downstream of lead pipes in the <br /> distribution system at some point in time. <br /> Based on our work so far, we confirmed that about 48% of private service lines are not lead, <br /> and we launched an effort to verify the material make-up of the remaining 11,962 private <br /> service lines. To date, OWASA has verified the material for over 2,230 these unknown service <br /> lines, informed customers when galvanized material was found, and provided information on <br /> what actions to take to protect their health. Since the beginning of the inventory program, <br /> OWASA has received over 100 reports from customers who have self-verified their service line <br /> material using instructions in mailings and on our website. To date, no lead lines have been <br /> identified in our service area through this effort. A comprehensive online map is under <br /> development that will allow customers to access information about their property's service line <br /> materials. In December 2023, OWASA was awarded a $1 million no-interest loan by the N.C. <br /> Department of Environmental Quality to support our inventory of service line materials across <br /> our service area. <br /> Jordan Lake Western Intake Partnership: OWASA joined the Jordan Lake Western Intake <br /> Partnership in 2022, partnering with the Town of Pittsboro, City of Durham, and Chatham <br /> County to ensure a secure water future for our communities. Although there is no near-term <br /> need for additional water supply in our community, OWASA's engagement in the partnership <br /> makes certain that we will have access to our allocation of Jordan Lake water when needed. <br /> The project is in early design and permitting stages for a new raw water intake, raw water <br /> transmission, water treatment, and drinking water transmission infrastructure. The Partners are <br />