UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, the Town of Hillsborough lifted its boil water notice after completing testing at its water treatment plant. It urged, however, customers to conserve their use because both treatment plants are still offline.
Flooding from the Eno River affected many areas of Hillsborough Sunday night into Monday morning, with the town government issuing a boil water notice for water and sewer customers. Elsewhere in Orange County, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) issued a statement about multiple wastewater incidents they are working to resolve.
An alert from the town early Monday morning warned residents who receive water from the town to boil water before drinking, cooking or using it to brush their teeth until further notice. The notice stems from both the town’s water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant being flooded from the heavy rains of Tropical Depression Chantal, which dropped several inches on the region Sunday night. The local government said its clear wells — a drinking water purification system — were flooded by the Eno River, meaning the town will have a limited supply of water until the river recedes, water can be processed to refill the tanks and tested to ensure it is clean. The wastewater treatment plant, meanwhile, is entirely offline.
Boil water notice. Everyone who uses drinking water from the Town of Hillsborough must boil water until further notice. Please boil water for drinking, cooking or washing your hands. Conserve water. For more direction on what to do during a boil water notice, see the town's website: buff.ly/4TPNgKu
— Town of Hillsborough, NC Government (@hillsboroughnc.gov) 2025-07-07T12:07:27.948Z
Boiling water helps kill bacteria and potential unhealthy pathogens when water quality has been compromised. Because of the notice and limited water capacity, Hillsborough encouraged residents to also conserve their water use until further notice by avoiding washing clothes or using water “beyond what is necessary.”
As a result, Mayor Mark Bell issued a state of emergency for the town to both help spread the word and increase the town’s ability to request aid. The local government also announced it will hold bottled water distributions at Hillsborough Commons (113 Mayo Street) on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hillsborough was among the areas under a flood watch Sunday night, as the severe weather rolled through the Triangle. Shortly before 10 p.m., the town government said several streets were experiencing flooding and encouraged people to stay home as Orange County issued a state of emergency from the storm. The local government also closed its town offices, Gold Park and the Riverwalk greenway for Monday. Eyewitnesses from overnight Sunday and Monday morning showed high water persisted through several areas surrounding the Eno River, which surged from the high amount of rain.
The Town of Hillsborough has more details on water advisories and notices on its website.
OWASA shares update wastewater overflows
OWASA, which is the water and sewer provider for Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents, put out a statement Monday afternoon saying it responded to a sewer main broken during flooding from Sunday night. It followed up with updates on several untreated wastewater overflows caused by the severe weather.
The agency said a resident identified an overflow along Bartram Drive and Kings Mill Road in Chapel Hill early Monday morning, but it was inaccessible for several hours because of the floodwaters. On Tuesday, OWASA said it is estimated that 819,000 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed from the sewer line into Morgan Creek and will make its way to Jordan Lake and the Cape Fear River Basin. Efforts are underway to stop the overflow, but the agency said a third-party contractor will be required.
Another overflow happened near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Bolinwood Drive in Chapel Hill. After a resident spotted it and alerted OWASA on Monday, the agency said an estimated 157,500 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into Bolin Creek. Similarly, that creek feeds into Jordan Lake and repairs will be underway for the sewer line once waters recede.
OWASA also shared more details on flooding at its Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant, where the overflows of wastewater bypassed UV disinfection, or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. The process is a key step in ensuring the safe potability of water, and thus any water that bypassed this step is considered “untreated.” The estimated water lost there was 2.7 million gallons.
OWASA said it notified the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources about the overflows and treatment bypass on Monday. Because of the overflow and potential contamination of water, the agency urged residents to avoid any flowing or standing water after the flooding.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect the OWASA wastewater data shared on Tuesday morning.
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