Issues Facing the Town of Pittsboro
1. Water Quality
Pittsboro's water often fails N.C Division of Water Quality standards because of excessive leves of trihalomethanes (tthms), a chemical that can cause cancer if ingested regulary over long periods of time. The Town is addressing the problem in two ways. It is switching to a new disinfection process, using chlorine and ammonia, rather than just chlorine.
Chloramination is the treatment of drinking water with a chloramine disinfectant. Both chlorine and small amounts of ammonia are added to the water one at a time which react together to form chloramine, a long lasting disinfectant.
The upgrade to the water plant is expected to be finished sometime in the spring of 2009. In the meantime, the Town is flushing its water lines more often as tthms often form in stagnant water. This seems to be helping as there haven't been any DWQ violations recently. The DWQ has threatened to fine the Town $30,000 this fall if the water plant upgrade is not complete, but it will not be finished until next year.
One potential side effect of chloramization is leaching from lead pipes, but a recent study at Va. Tech concluded that using a sulphide-based coagulants will solve this problem. Durham had significant problems with lead in its water, which were solved in the end by using a sulphide-based coagulant in its treatment process.
Although there is high hope that the water plant upgrade will solve the Town's tthm problem, there is no guarantee. It is considered by Hobbs, Upchurch to be an expedient way to get the Town into compliance as soon as possible. Higher water quality standards will be imposed by the State in the future and may require more modifications or a new water treatment plant.
2. Sewer Capacity
Pittsboro's wastewater treatment plant was constructed in the 1950s and is currently operating at its full capacity. As a result the Town imposed a new two-year building moratorium last fall on large scale residential and commercial developments. The plant occasionally incurs fines during wet weather events, when the plant is overwhelmed. A recent engineering study concluded that $1.8 million in modifications to the plant could increase its capacity significantly. Two developers, Ricky Spoon and Patrick Steele, are currently negotiating with the Town to prepay their development fees in exchange for sewer capacity. (Both developers had their master plans approved prior to the moratorium and are therefore not subject to it.) The negotiations, if successful, will allow two new large developments to move forward -- Bellemont Station, large commercial, including a new hotel near the Lowe's Home Improvement, and Westmoore, an innovative mixed-use community on U.S. 64 just west of CCCC. It will also help satisfy the sewer needs of other developments already approved and underway, specifically Potterstone Village and Powell Place.
Long-term, the Town is planning a new $44 million sewer plant to replace its aging facility. The project must be completed by 2011 when the State will disallow further discharge into Roberson Creek, considered an impaired stream because of its low flow. The project is progressing, although the financing has not yet been finalized. The plan calls for developers to pay for the project. Preston Place, a 6,000-acre proposed development, would pay for about half of the project.
The new plant would have a capacity of 4 million gallons a day, 10 times the operating capacity of the current plant.
3. Growth
The population of Pittsboro is growing rapidly, with many developments under construction. The Town would like to maintain the small-town charm of the historic downtown, but limited parking has been an issue. Most of the development is taking place at the Hwy 15-501 and U.S. 64 Bypass at the north edge of Town. The Pittsboro Place development on East Street drew considerable opposition last year, although the developer has yet to obtain a building permit. If a building permit is not obtained by Nov. 1, the developer will forfeit sewer capacity.
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