Pittsboro is responding to a chemical release upstream. Here’s what to know.

Pittsboro is urging its customers to conserve water after the City of Burlington detected a spike of a dangerous chemical in its discharge upstream on the Haw River.

Burlington measured 1,4-dioxane levels of 545 parts per billion in a sample it took Tuesday morning from its South Burlington Wastewater Treatment Plant’s discharge, a spike from 2.4 ppb the day before.

Burlington officials reported the results to Pittsboro and other downstream utilities Wednesday afternoon and ordered Apollo Chemical, the Burlington company it believes could be responsible, to cease production.

The chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is a likely human carcinogen that is difficult for utilities to remove from drinking water. It is used as an industrial solvent stabilizer. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a health advisory goal of 35 ppb for 1,4-dioxane in finished drinking water. North Carolina has a target level of 0.35 ppb in drinking water sources.

When spills occur from Burlington, as they have several times in recent years, the high level of 1,4-dioxane tends to move downstream in a “slug.” It can take about a week for the water containing high levels of the chemical to make its way downstream to Pittsboro and then several more days for it to fully pass by the town.

Pittsboro’s response

In a Thursday morning press release, Pittsboro officials said the town immediately stopped drawing most water from the Haw when they learned of the release Wednesday afternoon.

They also took a sample of the town’s water and expect to have samples back on Friday. Pittsboro is expecting to take daily samples and have them tested quickly until they are sure the slug of 1,-4-dioxane has moved past.

Town water officials cut the town’s intake from the Haw River to the minimum amount needed to keep the water system working, an effort to keep 1,4-dioxane out of the town’s system. That’s why Pittsboro is asking its customers to cut back on non-essential uses like watering their lawns, washing cars or filling swimming pools.

“We are fortunate to have received test results from Burlington so early in this event. We hope this early notification has provided a warning in enough time for us to take protective action,” the Pittsboro release said.

That’s a significant difference from a September event, when Burlington wasn’t able to notify Pittsboro of a spill until eight days after the release started because of a delay in the testing. Burlington has spent $115,000 conducting daily tests since a July 2023 spill.

As in past events, Pittsboro is offering free reverse osmosis and ultraviolet-treated drinking water at Chatham Marketplace, 480 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro. Customers can use the code 64261 to fill containars for free and are asked to bring jugs and bottles from home.

Finding a potential source

In a press release, Burlington pointed to Apollo Chemical, a local chemical manufacturer, as a potential source.

After a July 2023 spill was traced back to the company, Burlington started collecting daily samples of Apollo’s wastewater in case of any future spikes. With the latest spike, the city sent those samples for a rush analysis to determine the levels of chemicals in them.

After directing the company to halt production, Burlington officials were meeting with Apollo on Thursday.

Apollo is not part of Burlington’s pre-treatment program, in which the city regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater into its own wastewater plant.

But because the July 2023 spill affected the city’s wastewater, it was able to start working to bring Apollo into the program. That would allow Burlington to better regulate what the company discharges into wastewater.

Burlington is awaiting state approval of a new permit for that pre-treatment program, it said in a press release. That program could go into effect by March.

This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.