Agenda - 03-18-2025; 4-a - OWASA Annual Update Presentation

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6 OWASA Quarterly Report January 30, 2025 Page 3 service lines are in OWASA's service area. Customers with GRR lines have been notified that their service line requires replacement and to be on the lookout for further information from OWASA regarding the Service Line Replacement Program. Once confirmed onsite by an OWASA technician, customer service lines will be replaced at no direct cost to the customer. Youth Water Academy Graduates Fifth Cohort: OWASA graduated eleven students this year from its fifth cohort of our Youth Water Academy. Students attended a five-week course for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School high school students. Each week,they learned the fundamentals of our community's water and sewer systems and management from OWASA staff. Students toured both treatment plants, engineered and built their own small-scale water treatment system, explored what it's like to make decisions as a member of the Board of Directors, and more. Students participated in a graduation ceremony at OWASA Board of Directors'January 9 meeting. Johnny Randall Joins Board of Directors and Pending Board Appointments:Johnny Randall joined OWASA's Board of Directors on December 18.Johnny previously served as the Director of Conservation at the N.C. Botanical Garden from 1998 to 2023. He is adjunct faculty in the UNC-Chapel Hill Program in Environment, Ecology, and Energy and received both an M.S. and PhD in botany/plant ecology from Virginia Tech.Johnny served as biology faculty at UNC-Greensboro and at the University of North Florida for a total of ten years before coming to the N.C. Botanical Garden. He has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Orange County Planning Board and Commission for the Environment, and currently serves on the boards of the Triangle Connectivity Collaborative and N.C. Invasive Plant Council. He chairs the Friends of Chapel Hill Parks, Recreation and Greenways. His first meeting with the Board was January 9. OWASA will have openings on its Board of Directors this year to be appointed or reappointed by both Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Letters were sent to local government partners on January 7 with information to assist with recruiting and selecting members for appointment. You can also find information on our website. We appreciate your interest and action in appointing Board members as we continue critical work in the months ahead. OWASA embraces diversity and inclusion in everything we do, and we encourage all interested candidates to apply for Board appointments.The only qualification needed is a genuine commitment to serve the community. Dare to Share Campaign for OWASA's Care to Share Program: We are grateful for Mayor Anderson's and Mayor's Foushee's engagement in a "Dare to Share" campaign this fall to raise funds for our Care to Share program.The mayors "dared"the community to raise funds for OWASA's Care to Share program. A very entertaining commercial for the campaign aired at the Lumina Theater and was shared on social media. It can still be viewed here on our YouTube channel. Care to Share, which raises around $24,000 each year in monthly bill contributions, received $3,735 in direct contributions during the Dare to Share Campaign. This amount alone will help about 15 families in need pay their water bill. OWASA Welcomes New Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Coordinator: Amanda Storyward joined OWASA in November 2024 as our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Coordinator. Amanda has a master's degree in public administration from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill. Prior to working at OWASA,they were the Director of Organizational Diversity and Inclusion at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.