OWASA uses programs to help low-income residents

The Orange County Board of Commissioners recently discussed whether or not the Orange Water and Sewer Authority would attempt to amend its sales and purchase agreement. 

The sales and purchase agreement restricts OWASA's ability to specialize rates according to the income level of its customers.

OWASA is a nonprofit agency that provides water services to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. The organization is set up as a special purpose governing body, which is how the regulations of the sales and purchase agreement can be applied to the organization.

"We stay in our lane and stay focused on delivering water service and we allow our partners, including the local governments, to focus on their social services and low-income support," OWASA chairperson John Young said. "Some might say that's the way it should be, describing it as an issue could be a colorful way depending on your point of view," 

Within the state of North Carolina, at least three different types of water utilities can be found. There are independent authorities, like OWASA, private utilities that are run for a profit, as well as some that are embedded in town government.

"I think in any case when you have lower income people who can't pay their utilities that's a problem for any type of utility," Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier said. "There's a tendency for individuals who are financially challenged to not go to these boards because they feel helpless. They don't have the time and energy because they are financially stressed."

According to Young, the fight to amend this agreement would be much more challenging than it would be helpful.

"We have not focused and do not plan on focusing on amending the sales and purchase agreement," he said. 

"The first thing we try and do (to help residents) is keep our rates down and make it affordable for everyone. That certainly has been a lot of our focus, and over the past four years we've been fortunate enough not to have to raise our rates, which I think is different than what most water utility customers are experiencing."

Young explained how the second feature of OWASA that helps residents is the establishment of an affordability outreach pilot project. This project was developed about 18 months ago to provide information to low-income customers about reducing their water usage. 

"In establishing the program, we've partnered with a lot of other agencies to kind of rally them together to address this problem," he said.

Another program that works in partnership with OWASA is the Care to Share Program which is administered by the Inter-Faith Council. 

According to Sustainability Manager Mary Tiger, the Care to Share program is a voluntary program that is a way for the whole community to come together to address affordability. 

"It gives them that tool in the tool box that they can help community members that come to them," she said. 

Tiger said the program mainly works by voluntarily allowing customers to roll up their bill to the next dollar amount.

"It might just be pennies to the dollar that they're contributing, but it's a really meaningful contribution to the community and really helps those that need it," Tiger said.

Without the Care to Share program and its voluntary contributions, customers not classified as low-income would have to pay extra to make up for the discounted rates that would be provided to certain families.

"Even with our restrictions, we are very focused on our need-based customers, but we do so by trying to rally others to help fund it and create programs around it," Young said.

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