Triangle Pen Club February Meeting

[tbaley]

Due to a broken water main, there is a chance our meeting will have to be canceled because the library may be closed. As with our last meeting, I intend to hold off to the last minute. However, in this case, it is probable they will have the water main fixed in a short while and the library will re-open. Please check the Meetup site for the latest information.

Tom Baley

trb@acm.org

Here is the content of the emails I received.

Hello,

Due to a shortage of water in the community, the library is closing at 1pm today, Friday 2/3 and will potentially be closed Saturday 2/4 and Sunday 2/5. Since you have a meeting room booked either Saturday or Sunday, we wanted to make you aware of the situation.

Please check our website and/or our social media channels for more information later today and tomorrow to see if the library will be open.

http://chapelhillpubliclibrary.org

https://www.facebook.com/ChapelHillPublicLibrary/

https://twitter.com/chpublib

Below is the latest message from OWASA about the water emergency

Emergency Message from OWASA Water supply is running out, OWASA directs customers not to use water until further notice.

Post Date: 02/03/2017 11:41 AM

OWASA directs its customers to not use water until further notice.

Due to a shutdown of the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant and a major water main break Friday morning on the northeast side of Chapel Hill near Dobbins Drive, the water supply in the OWASA system has reached very low levels. Using water could result in contamination of the OWASA system.

Customers are encouraged to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

Customers can use bottled water to flush a toilet, after pouring water into the tank. If a toilet does not have a tank, it may be possible to pour water into the bowl to flush.

OWASA is working to restore the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant to normal operation as soon as it is safe to do so. OWASA field personnel are working to repair the water main break as soon as possible.

OWASA will send updates.

Emergency Response Crews
The Chapel Hill and Carrboro fire departments have contacted their mutual-aid partners who have resources to assist in bringing additional water to fire scenes. In the event of a fire, those partners are prepared to respond to assist in maintaining a water supply for firefighting until water levels are restored for OWASA customers.

Background information
Due to an accidental overfeed of fluoride within the water treatment process, OWASA began receiving drinking water from the City of Durham late Thursday afternoon.

The fluoride overfeed was contained at the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant. No water with higher than normal fluoride reached the water pipe system, so the water is safe to drink.

 

[tbaley]

UPDATE 11:30 AM Saturday

 

Currently the Chapel Hill Public Library, our meeting place, is closed because of a water main break. There will be a press conference this afternoon to announce the progress. We are hoping at this time to be able to have our normal meeting.

In the event that we must cancel, we will still have a meeting at the Mad Hatter in Durham. In that case we will not have a speaker because of the limitations of the venue, but we can still get together.

I have included the press releases below.

Tom

Thomas R. Baley
(404) 307-6428

www.linkedin.com/in/tbaley

Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2017 11:04 AM
To: News Orange Co
Subject: Re: News conference scheduled to update OWASA water situation

 

Will the news conference be carried live on any of the local stations?

On Feb 4, 2017, at 10:37 AM, Todd McGee <

tmcgee@orangecountync.gov

> wrote:

Media Contact

Todd McGee

Community Relations Director

Orange County

(984) 220-5412

tmcgee@orangecountync.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News conference scheduled to update OWASA water situation

 

ORANGE COUNTY, NC (February 4) – Officials with Orange County and OWASA will provide an update on the ongoing water situation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro at

3 p.m.

on Saturday, Feb. 4.

The update will be held at the Orange County Emergency Operations Center at 510 Meadowlands Drive in Hillsborough.

###

Todd McGee

Orange County Community Relations Director

(919) 245-2302

(o)

(984) 220-5412

(cell)

tmcgee@orangecountync.gov

 

[tbaley]

UPDATE on TRIANGLE PEN CLUB MEETING: as of Saturday 3:30 PM:

 

The Chapel Hill Public Library and all Parks and Recreation facilities will remain closed Saturday and return to normal operations on Sunday. The drive up book drop at the library is closed. No items are due today and no fines will accrue. Any items on hold will have their pick up date extended.

 

The Triangle Fountain Pen Club will hold its Sunday meeting as scheduled. The Chapel Hill Public Library will operate normal hours on Sunday.