Closed for the winter, it’s quiet around Univerity Lake these days. Though not nearly as drawn down as Cane Creek Reservoir, Assistant Lake Warden Robert Glosson says “you could harvest a lot of hay around here.” Photo by Kirk Ross.

The Orange Water and Sewer Authority will hold a public forum tonight (Thursday) regarding “The State of Our Local Water Supply,” to provide information and receive customers’ questions and feedback.

The forum will be held at 7 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Town Hall and will be televised live on local cable channel 18.

The forum will cover local water supply and demand and weather forecasts for coming months along with the short and long-term financial implications and the options, costs and timetable for addressing the worst-case drought scenario.

At the forum there will also be a review of proposed changes in OWASA’s water conservation standards and ordinances to further limit outdoor irrigation in Stage Two and Stage Three water shortages.
Stage Two restrictions are now in effect. The proposed changes would generally prohibit irrigation with hand-held hoses, soaker hoses, drip irrigation and micro-spray systems in Stage Two and prohibit all irrigation with OWASA drinking water in Stage Three. Stage Three restrictions have previously allowed outdoor watering with hand-carried watering cans or buckets.

Under the changes, Stage Two restrictions would mandate that OWASA-supplied potable water could only be used outdoors for irrigation purposes only by hand-carried watering cans or buckets, limited to a maximum of one-half inch of water applied to plant material in any given week.