Initial test results of water sampled Wednesday from the Cape Fear River showed nothing that would trigger concerns related to a spill from the Fayetteville Works industrial site in Bladen County.
CFPUA staff began monitoring water near intakes on the Cape Fear River after learning that a substance entered the river Tuesday afternoon. Samples taken at 8 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. showed no abnormalities. Additional sampling is ongoing.
Out of an abundance of caution, CFPUA ceased withdrawing water from the Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority intake at Kings Bluff in Bladen County for about six hours, starting about 8 a.m. Wednesday. CFPUA had stopped withdrawing water from its own intake at Kings Bluff late Tuesday.
Based on available information, CFPUA staff estimated that 8 a.m. would be the soonest the substances might reach the intake, which is about 55 miles from the outfall at Fayetteville Works, which is owned by Chemours.
CFPUA staff will continue to test samples to monitor for changes that might indicate any problems before deciding whether to resume normal operations, including drawing water through the LCFWSA and its own raw water intakes.
CFPUA’s storage facilities are full, so customers should not be affected during the estimated six-hour shutdown. Regardless, customers are urged to take steps to conserve, including delaying irrigation or other activities that use significant amounts of water.
Regulators from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality contacted CFPUA about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday to say that a spill had been reported about 2:30 p.m. Since then, staff at CFPUA have been working to learn more about the incident and take precautionary steps such as topping off their storage facilities and putting in place contingency plans.
In conference calls Tuesday and Wednesday, Fayetteville Works Plant Manager Brian Long told CFPUA staff that that it is believed that about 30 gallons of a plasticizer leaked from Kuraray Americas, an industrial tenant at the site. Long said the material contained no PFAS. He also said that containment steps had been taken and that the spill had ceased and was no longer entering the Cape Fear River.
The Cape Fear River is the source of about 80 percent of the water CFPUA distributes. CFPUA customers served by groundwater are not affected. You can determine the source of your water here.
CFPUA will provide regular updates throughout the day as we learn more.