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On Wednesday, October 2, several members of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s staff will deploy to Western North Carolina to support water utilities in communities recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Two crews from CFPUA’s Pump Stations team are going to the Town of Hendersonville, where they will be stationed for two weeks while helping town utility staff bring wastewater pump stations back online. They will also provide the town with laboratory supplies, including water quality testing kits.

Staff from CFPUA’s Collections Maintenance team are also delivering a trailer of supplies to the City of Asheville, including equipment provided by the City of Durham and cases of water donated personally by CFPUA staff. 

In addition, CFPUA has had a continuous staff presence at the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh since Friday, September 27. These staff members have provided logistical support for the state’s emergency response throughout Western N.C. Staff from CFPUA’s Information Technology Department will also travel this week to Conover to provide technological support to the N.C. Division of Emergency Management’s Western Branch.

“CFPUA is a founding member of N.C. Water WARN, a statewide network of water and wastewater utilities committed to supporting each other throughout emergency response operations,” Deputy Executive Director Beth Eckert said. “Our staff is ready to provide support and relief to our peers in Hendersonville, who have been working nonstop since Helene struck to get water and wastewater services restored.”

“It is hard to grasp just how devastating the storm damage has been to our sister utilities’ infrastructure,” CFPUA Board Chair Jennifer Adams said. “The impacts to treatment plants, water and sewer mains, and pump stations are catastrophic. CFPUA’s crews will assist with mechanical and electrical repairs to help get these critical assets back online for Hendersonville customers.”

For information about statewide emergency response to Hurricane Helene, including county-by-county resources and instructions on how to donate to hurricane recovery, visit the N.C. Emergency Management website.

Staff load emergency supplies at CFPUA's Wastewater Collections warehouse.