Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 9-15, and June 1 is the start of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season. CFPUA staff and facilities remain prepared to ensure our community maintains consistent access to critical water and wastewater services during and after severe weather.
When a hurricane or tropical storm is approaching the region, CFPUA stands up its emergency operations center, which remains active until the weather threat has passed and through recovery as needed. In some instances when severe weather impacts are expected, essential staff may be dispatched to shelter in-place at CFPUA’s water and wastewater facilities during a storm.
To ensure electrical power is available, critical CFPUA sites have emergency generators on-site year-round or that are dispatched to the sites ahead of severe weather.
In preparation for each hurricane season, CFPUA leases additional fuel storage tanks for facilities, including our two water treatment plants, two wastewater treatment plants, wastewater pump stations, and groundwater well sites. In the event of a widespread, prolonged loss of power, stored fuel capacity would allow these facilities to continue running for days.
Measures such as these allowed CFPUA to maintain uninterrupted water and sewer services for all but a few customers during 2018’s catastrophic Hurricane Florence.
In 2019, CFPUA purchased a 2,800-gallon fuel truck as well as 15 100-gallon fuel saddle tanks that can fit in the beds of pickup trucks. CFPUA also has an emergency fuel contract with a regional vendor to ensure that generators at our facilities have a supply of fuel.
CFPUA is also a member of NC WaterWARN, a mutual aid network of water and wastewater utilities that can provide each other emergency equipment, personnel, and other assistance after a severe weather event.
Customers can sign up for CFPUA emergency alerts, including for inclement weather and interruptions to water or sewer service, at CFPUA.org/CivicReady.
CFPUA also encourages customers to get more information on hurricane preparedness from New Hanover County Emergency Management at ReadyNHC.com.