Oxford NC - Clean Downstream

If it looks okay…

And it smells okay…

And it tastes okay…

That used to be all we had to go by.

Over the last 150 years, as we have developed an understanding of
the connection between our water and our health, we have also
adopted a set of laws and regulations to protect the water.

Mid 1800’s	Doctors began to make a connection between contaminated drinking water and disease outbreaks in urban areas. Water quality tests were developed to indicate the presence of harmful bacteria.
Early 1900’s	The first federal statutes were written to regulate drinking water and sewage treatment.
Early 1900’s	In Oxford, the first elevated water tower was built. Sewer lines were built under the City, converging at two points in town, Northside and Southside, and draining directly into the creeks.
1912	The Public Health Service was formed to set bacteriological standards for drinking water. Typhoid was the major focus at the time.
1925	Oxford built a water treatment plant on Providence Road to supply water for drinking and fire protection. The plant drew water from the Tar River and replaced two large wells that had been the City's source of municipal water.
1930’s	During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Core and other work programs helped build and restore the nation’s infrastructure. These public works projects led to a great improvement in the quality of drinking water, sewage treatment, and other public health services in the United States.
Early 1930’s	In Oxford, the Northside and Southside wastewater treatment plants were upgraded, adding 'Inhoff tanks' (basically large septic tanks) to eliminate some of the solids from the effluent before it was released into the creeks. The old Southside plant, which has been closed since 1987.
1948	The Water Pollution Control Act was adopted to reduce water pollution and to improve the sanitary condition of drinking water supplies. It focused on conserving waters for public water supplies, propagation of fish and aquatic life, recreational purposes, and agricultural and industrial uses. It offered assistance to communities for constructing sewage treatment plants.
1950’s	The tremendous boom in the chemical, plastics, petroleum, automotive, aviation, and munitions industries created some very visible and obvious forms of pollution. There was increasing pressure on the government to establish safety standards for drinking water.
1950’s	The Public Health Service water quality standards were revised to include chemicals that would have toxic or carcinogenic effects from long-term consumption.
Early 1950’s	Drought conditions prompted Oxford to build Lake Devin as a more reliable source of drinking water than the Tar River.
1958	Oxford upgraded the Northside and Southside treatment plants, adding trickling filters. At the time, these were the new standard in wastewater treatment for smaller cities.
1962	The dam at Lake Devin broke! The City had to go back to drawing water from the Tar River until 1964, when the dam was rebuilt with an improved 'French drain' system.
1965	The Federal Water Quality Administration was formed as a branch of the Public Health Service.
1966	The Federal Water Quality Administration broke off from the Public Health Service and became the Department of the Interior. The emphasis was still on public health, but added in a new level of concern for the environment as a factor in public health.
1967-1968	In Oxford, Burlington Industries began negotiating with the City for an allocation of 1 million gallons of water per day. Burlington Industries signed a 25-year committment and agreed to pay 25% of the cost of a new industrial treatment plant.
1970	Oxford's new industrial treatment plant on the south side of I-85 was completed and put into service.
1970	The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed to protect the environment and public health.
1972	The 1948 Water Pollution Control Act was amended to establish a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) which authorized EPA to require discharge permits.
1974	The EPA Safe Water Drinking Act was adopted to protect public health and to assist communities in meeting water quality requirements.
1974-1975	Oxford joined Henderson and Warren County in a regional system, drawing water from Kerr Lake. Oxford closed the drinking water treatment plant at Lake Devin.
1977	The Water Pollution Control Act was amended to become the Clean Water Act. It establishes: • regulations on the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the U.S., • wastewater standards for industry, • permitting requirements for any discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, • grants to fund construction of sewage treatment plants, • water quality standards for lakes and rivers in the U.S., • a goal of returning all U.S. waters to a fishable and swimmable condition.
1986	The Safe Drinking Water Act was amended to cover 83 trace substances in drinking water.
1987	The Clean Water Act construction grants program was replaced with Clean Water State Revolving Funds (a loans program). This revision also added new emphasis on water toxins and on ‘non-point sources’ of pollution (agricultural runoff, contaminants that wash off of roads and out of storm gutters, etc.)
1987-1989	Oxford renovated and upgraded the Industrial Plant (our current plant) and closed both the Northside and Southside treatment facilities.
1993	The Clean Water Act was amended to add regulations on use and disposal of sewage sludge.
1996	Amendments to the Safe Water Drinking Act set new standards for disinfectants, radon, arsenic, and sulfates. They require public drinking water system operators to inform consumers of their water sources.
2006	Oxford invests $10 million to upgrade or replace most systems at the wastewater treatment plant. The new plant uses the best available technologies to meet or exceed all federal and state standards for secondary wastewater treatment.

Each new regulation has added protections for our health and our environment. But they have also added economic and technical challenges for our water and wastewater utilities. Towns and cities have had to build and upgrade their wastewater treatment plants – not only to serve a growing population, but also to meet new regulations and requirements.