Today Governor Josh Stein and Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Cape Fear Public Utility Authority's Sweeney Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington to announce $17 million in grants to protect families from forever chemicals like PFAS and GenX in their drinking water. The funds will be used to extend waterlines to connect more than 300 homes with contaminated wells to CFPUA's supply of safe drinking water.
This funding follows the Governor's recent announcement of more than $472 million for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across 66 counties. As part of that investment, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority received $17.8 million to support replacement and capacity upgrade of the Southside Water Reclamation Facility.
“When families turn on the tap, they deserve to know that their water is clean and safe,” said Governor Josh Stein. “This $17 million investment in Wilmington will protect more than 300 families from forever chemicals by connecting their homes to the public water supply. We’ve made historic commitments to upgrade water infrastructure across North Carolina because keeping North Carolinians healthy starts with reliable, resilient water systems.”
“People who live in the Cape Fear River Basin are rightly concerned about high levels of forever chemicals like GenX and PFAS in their drinking water,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “The Department of Environmental Quality remains committed to doing everything we can to reduce exposure to these harmful chemicals so that families can trust that the water coming out of their tap is healthy and safe.”
“Clean drinking water is among the most fundamental services government provides. This funding helps connect families in New Hanover County to the safe water they deserve, and we're grateful for the State's continued partnership in that effort,” said Vice Chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board Member Dane Scalise.
"Since CFPUA brought new filters online at our Sweeney Plant in 2022, we have been able to effectively remove GenX and other PFAS from our public drinking water," said CFPUA Board Chairman Wesley P. Corder. "We are very grateful for this support from Governor Stein's Office and the Department of Environmental Quality, which will enable us to connect more families in our community to CFPUA's clean, clearly better water."
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will receive the $17 million through the Department of Environmental Quality’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (ECSDC) program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In portions of New Hanover County served by these waterline extension projects, more than 75 percent of sampled wells exceeded health-based drinking water standards for certain PFAS compounds.
The $472 million statewide investment through NCDEQ will help cities, towns and counties strengthen infrastructure to better withstand future storms, improve existing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, reduce contamination by forever chemicals, and identify and replace lead pipes. The recent $17.8 million funding to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority brings DEQ’s total support for the Southside Replacement Project to $192.8 million.
Governor Stein is committed to strengthening the state’s water systems and protecting North Carolinians from contamination. Since taking office, Governor Stein has advanced more than $1.4 billion in water infrastructure projects to strengthen drinking water and wastewater systems and address PFAS and other contaminants. Last week, the Governor traveled to Winston-Salem to join the 40th annual Emerging Issues Forum, where he discussed the importance of sustained investment in North Carolina’s water infrastructure. As Attorney General, Governor Stein sued DuPont and Chemours for contaminating the Cape Fear River with forever chemicals and filed lawsuits against more than a dozen PFAS users and dischargers for polluting communities across the state. Those cases remain in the courts.
Learn more about the Division of Water Infrastructure’s funding programs here.