This month on “Wonderful Water,” join 97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey for a conversation with Orange Water and Sewer Authority’s engineering manager for capital projects, Allison Spinelli.
Spinelli discussed PFAS, per-and poly- fluroalkyl substances, a hot topic in any conversation about any water supply, these days. OWASA has been actively monitoring PFAS levels since 2018, and Spinelli discussed current measures being taken, community meetings and information sessions, and what OWASA is doing to ensure continued service and safety to Orange County residents.
“PFAS comes to us, at the water treatment plant, from different places that it’s built up in the environment,” said Spinelli. “In OWASA’s case, one of our reservoirs, the Cane Creek Reservoir, has elevated levels of PFAS that are contributing to slightly higher levels than we would want in our drinking water.”
OWASA has explored multiple avenues and solutions for the removal of PFAS from drinking water, and worked to create effective communication and opportunities to hear from experts and avoid misinformation.
“We suspect that the source of the PFAS in Cane Creek is the legacy application of wastewater biosolids in the Cane Creek watershed from another community with a strong industrial presence,” said Spinelli. “But, biosolids are no longer being applied there — and really haven’t been since 2017 — but unfortunately they are still showing up in our source water.”
As community discussions continue and OWASA engineers and implements PFAS removal methods, residents can find more information directly on the OWASA website.
You can listen to the full conversation below, and visit the Wonderful Water page here for more interviews and stories about the work OWASA does in our community.
Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents use roughly 7 million gallons of water a day, and “Wonderful Water” is a monthly conversation sponsored by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority highlighting its work to keep our community growing and water flowing.
Presented by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines