Members of the public are invited to give their comments on CFPUA’s draft Source Water Protection Plan.
CFPUA’s draft Source Water Protection Plan was developed with partner organizations across Southeastern North Carolina, outlining strategies to protect the lower Cape Fear River from point- and non-point pollution sources.
In 2020, CFPUA released its Source Water Risk and Resiliency Plan, which identified more than 150 potential contaminant sources (PCSs) along 160 miles of the Cape Fear River’s watershed. The new Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) expands on that Risk and Resiliency Plan, bringing in regional partners to develop specific strategies and goals to mitigate pollution.
The SWPP details both short- and long-term goals to establish regional resources on source water protection, inventory PCSs, promote education around source water protection, and more.
CFPUA’s draft SWPP was developed with input from numerous community partners, including: Brunswick County Public Utilities, Pender County Utilities, the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority, the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, the City of Wilmington/Heal Our Waterways, New Hanover County Planning and Land Use, Feast Down East, the N.C. Division of Social and Water Conservation, the Cape Fear River Assembly, and Cape Fear River Watch.
If CFPUA’s plan is approved by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, it would be the first approved SWPP in North Carolina’s coastal plain, and the first SWPP for a portion of the Cape Fear River.
The draft SWPP is available at this link.
Public comments on the draft SWPP can be submitted by completing this form. CFPUA will receive public comments through Friday, June 24.