FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mike McGill
(910) 332-6704
After Hours: (910) 622-8472
mike.mcgill@cfpua.org
communications@cfpua.org
This news release was issued on March 6, 2014, in compliance with North Carolina General Statute 143-251.1C (a portion of the Clean Water Act of 1999). For further information, contact Mike McGill, Chief Communications Officer for the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) at the contact numbers and emails given above.
Wilmington, NC (March 6, 2014): Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) crews responded to and stopped a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) that was discovered earlier today at 9:12 a.m. near the Suncourt Villas Pump Station located at 1425 Suncourt Villas Drive. A cracked four-inch force main was the cause of the SSO, which was repaired during the day by CFPUA crews.
CFPUA staff was able to capture much of the overflow before it reached local waterways. Approximately 4,650 gallons of wastewater spilled from the broken pipe and 3,650 gallons were recovered by CFPUA using vactor trucks. However, approximately 1,000 gallons of wastewater reached a drainage ditch on Pine Grove Road that flows into Hewlett’s Creek. CFPUA Environmental Management staff members have conducted water quality testing at various locations at and around the site and the SSO has been reported to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. Because of the relatively small size of the spill and the dilution likely to take place due to the strength of the current storm, further samples are not likely to be required.
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Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) was formed by the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County to combine their water and sewer operations. It began operations on July 1, 2008. Today, the Authority serves more than 67,000 water customer accounts and more than 63,000 wastewater customer accounts. It oversees more than 1,000 miles of water distribution mains and nearly 1,000 miles of sewer mains. For more information, visit www.cfpua.org or contact CFPUA’s Communications staff at communications@cfpua.org.