News Release

NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund Grant
of $1.87 million approved for water reuse project

CHAPEL HILL -- The Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund has approved a $1.87 million grant to help pay for a wastewater reuse project by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In addition, the grant to OWASA has been fully funded through the North Carolina General Assembly’s recent budget decisions including a $62 million appropriation for the Trust Fund.

The $1.87 million grant will pay for engineering design work for a wastewater reuse system planned to provide non-drinking water to certain UNC facilities such as chiller plant(s), possibly as early as 2007. The University now uses OWASA drinking water in the operation of chiller plants, which cool the air for campus buildings.

The reuse system will help enable the future reuse of highly treated – or "reclaimed" – water from OWASA’s Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant on the southeast side of Chapel Hill. In May, a three-year, $50 million improvement project began at the Mason Farm plant that will in part enhance the treatment process to meet State standards for permissible water reuses.

The reuse system will involve installation of pumps, storage tanks and piping with a construction cost of several million dollars to carry the reclaimed, reusable, treated water from the Mason Farm plant to the university campus. The first phase of the water reuse system is expected to cost about $8 million, and will include about 15,000 feet of new reclaimed water line.

"We deeply appreciate the approval of this grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the General Assembly’s continuing support of the Trust Fund," said Mark Marcoplos, chair of the OWASA board of directors.

"The reuse of highly-treated wastewater is a progressive, sustainable practice that will help reduce our community’s overall demand for drinking water in future years -- and that means we will be better able to cope with future droughts," he said.

Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chancellor for Campus Services at UNC-Chapel Hill, said, "The university is committed to sustainable practices and we are pleased to be able to significantly increase the longevity of the community’s potable water resources through this innovative partnership. We look forward to working with OWASA on this important initiative and greatly appreciate the trust fund’s financial commitment to it."

OWASA and UNC estimate that reuse will reduce drinking water demand by about 10 percent initially and possibly by 15 percent or more in the long term. The system will also reduce the discharge of nutrients from the Mason Farm plant to Morgan Creek, which flows into Jordan Lake. This will provide important long-term water quality benefits.

The reuse system could also be extended in the future to serve additional locations outside the university’s main campus where and when it is feasible to do so.

"We applaud OWASA for undertaking this kind of project," said Bill Holman, executive director of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. "It’s a very progressive approach to wastewater management."

The trust fund was established in 1996 to help finance projects that enhance or restore degraded waters, protect unpolluted waters, and/or contribute toward a network of riparian buffers and greenways for environmental, educational, and recreational benefits.

Note:  Carolyn Elfland, (919) 962-7244; carolyn_elfland@unc.edu
Patrick Davis, sustainability administrator, OWASA, (919) 537-4210; pdavis@owasa.org

News Services contact:  Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093; lisa_katz@unc.edu
Trust Fund contact:  Lisa Schell, (919) 716-0057, lisa.schell@ncmail.net
OWASA contact:  Greg Feller, (919) 537-4267, gfeller@owasa.org