CFPUA Cuts Sewer Spills by 47%, Amount of Wastewater Spilled by 78%
Created in 2008, maintenance, capital improvement programs continue dramatic reduction in sewer system failures
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Mike McGill
mike.mcgill@cfpua.org
Office: (910) 332-6704
After Hours: (910) 622-8472
Wilmington, NC (August 17, 2016): Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) is pleased to announce today that, over the course its last five years of operation, CFPUA has dramatically cut the number of state-reportable Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) by 47% and the volume of the wastewater spilled in those incidents by 78% when compared to the five-year period before CFPUA began operations in 2008.
During the five-year period prior to CFPUA’s creation - June 2003 to June 2008 - 156 SSOs occurred, spilling more than 11.24 million gallons of wastewater into the environment. During the last five fiscal years of CFPUA’s operations – July 2011 to June 2016 – CFPUA’s investment in the sewer system has cut the number of sewer spills to 83 – a drop of 46.79% - and the total amount spilled to 2.49 million gallons, a drop of 77.76%.
[NOTE: Data files are attached showing both the July 2003 to June 2008 numbers and the July 2011 to June 2016 numbers.]
CFPUA was created, in part, to address significant issues with the area’s sewer system. Today, CFPUA manages more than 1,000 miles of sewer mains, more than 140 pump stations, and two wastewater treatment plants. The entire sewer system collects and processes more than 6 billion gallons of wastewater every year.
“When you achieve success to this degree, a lot of people deserve credit, especially our ratepayers who fund investments in our system,” said Jim Flechtner, CFPUA Executive Director. “One group that also stands out is the CFPUA staff who operate our sewer system around the clock. When the Joaquin-related deluge hit our area last fall, our staff was out in the middle of the storm - spread out all over our 1,000-mile network of sewer mains - to make sure the community was protected from spills.”
“Success like this doesn’t happen overnight,” said Mike Brown, CFPUA Board Chair. “Thanks to the shared commitment by our ratepayers, community leaders, and CFPUA staff, we have been able to significantly invest in our system and strengthen it to the point where we can place more of a focus on long-term sustainability, instead of short-term fixes and emergency repairs. That ability to shift our focus to the future will pay dividends for decades.”
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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 65,000 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.