County hears presentation, public opposition to proposed Jordan Lake water treatment facility; item referred to planning board

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation Jan. 16 on a proposed regional drinking-water intake and 20-million-gallon-per-day treatment facility to be sited on roughly 121 acres near Seaforth Road adjacent to Jordan Lake. The application was submitted by the City of Durham on behalf of the Western Intake Partnership, a multi-jurisdictional partnership that includes the City of Durham, Chatham County, the town of Pittsboro and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA).

Jeff Adkins of HDR and Bill Dauvagon, a consulting engineer with CDM Smith, described the project components, including a Jordan Lake intake, an underground tunnel and raw-water pump station, treatment basins, treated-water storage and transmission pipelines to partner distribution systems. Presenters said the partners are in preliminary engineering and aim to have facilities in operation by 02/1931; detailed design and contractor selection had not yet occurred.

Several nearby homeowners and residents spoke during the public hearing and urged the board to deny the rezoning or to require additional mitigation. John Cieppo, a Seaforth Landing homeowner, asked the board to “deny this application and require the WIP to find a more suitable location” and raised concerns about hazardous chemicals, spill risks, emergency access and impacts to home values. Pat Gallarelli, whose property is adjacent to the site, urged that unused land near the facility be designated as permanent green space, asked that the project require high-speed internet be run to Seaforth Road, and requested clarity on the proposed right-of-way width that appears in application materials.

After the presentation and public comment, the board chair closed the hearing and referred the rezoning application to the county planning board for further review and recommendation. No zoning ordinance or rezoning decision was adopted by the commissioners at the Jan. 16 meeting; the matter will continue through the planning and quasi-judicial processes required for rezonings of this type.

Presenters and partners emphasized the regional nature of the project; staff noted OWASA previously purchased the property decades ago and Durham is acting as agent on behalf of the partnership. Pittsboro and OWASA were described in the presentation as not participating in the project’s initial phase for finished water distribution (Pittsboro transitioning from Sanford; OWASA to receive water only in emergency initially).