FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mike McGill
(910) 622-8472
mike.mcgill@cfpua.org
This news release was issued on August 4, 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 (August 4, 2014): Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) crews responded to and stopped a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) that occurred Sunday, August 3, 2014, at approximately 9:49 a.m. at the Loader Pump Station located near the Windy Hills subdivision in southern New Hanover County. It is believed that the torrential rains experienced by the region are the main cause for the overflow; there are no apparent system failures at this time. Because of the significant rain this weekend, abnormally heavy flows were experienced at the pump station. While pumps remained operational, they were unable to keep up with the amount of flow and the overflow occurred.
Because of the heavy rainfall, crews conducted on-site visits throughout the weekend and responded quickly to stop the overflow by 3:58 p.m. Sunday afternoon. However, an estimated 14,800 gallons of wastewater reached a tributary of the Intracoastal Waterway. In situations with continued heavy rainfall, the wastewater spilled can be significantly diluted in a short period of time. CFPUA Environmental Management staff members have conducted water quality monitoring in the area and the incident has been reported to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality.
While an above-ground investigation did not reveal any additional causes for the overflow, CFPUA will conduct a below-ground investigation using video cameras to further determine if there are any other contributing factors. Operations in the area have returned to normal.
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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.