In just over six months, Wrightsville Beach’s water and sewer customers will become customers of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.

The consolidation of the Town’s systems into CFPUA’s will be official on September 30. This will be the first major utility consolidation in our community since 2008, when CFPUA was formed out of a consolidation of the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County’s water and sewer departments. 

Last summer I shared an overview of the consolidation, including how local governments reached the agreement and how it will benefit customers and our region. 

In this post, I’ll share a closer look at some of the changes Wrightsville Beach customers can expect: 

Drinking Water Quality 

Ensuring Wrightsville Beach has a consistent source of clean, high-quality drinking water is a major driver of the merger. 

For years, Wrightsville Beach relied exclusively on a network of groundwater wells to serve its customers. But testing has shown saltwater intrusion is negatively impacting water quality at several wells, and PFAS (per- and fluoroalkyl substances) has been found in one. 

In 2019, Wrightsville Beach and CFPUA signed an emergency water supply agreement, under which CFPUA sells the Town water treated at our Sweeney Water Treatment Plant. Today, about 40 percent of Wrightsville Beach’s annual water supply is sourced from CFPUA. 

A long-term goal of consolidation is ensuring 100 percent of the Town’s water is provided by CFPUA’s Sweeney Plant. Sweeney, which treats about 80 percent of the water CFPUA produces, underwent a $43 million upgrade and expansion that was completed in 2022. The plant is one of the most state-of-the-art in the state and, thanks to the addition of Granular Activated Carbon filters, is now able to effectively remove GenX and other PFAS from drinking water. 

CFPUA is designing an additional water main running from the mainland to Wrightsville Beach, which will increase the amount of water we are able to provide the Town and provide increased resilience. Construction is expected to start this winter. Once that project is complete and the water is flowing, the Town’s water supply will be significantly less reliant on the groundwater wells.

Customer Service

In the coming months, account information for Wrightsville Beach’s 2,800 water and sewer customers will be transferred to CFPUA. 

Once they become customers, Wrightsville Beach residents will pay the same rates as other CFPUA customers. The rates CFPUA and Wrightsville Beach charge for combined water and sewer services are already comparable, so customers shouldn’t see major differences in their bills. 

There is one big change coming to how Wrightsville Beach customers are billed: customers will now receive water and sewer bills monthly, rather than bimonthly. CFPUA shifted to monthly billing in 2021, aligning our billing schedule with those other household expenses that are almost always billed on a monthly basis, such as power, internet, and rent or mortgage. Monthly bills also allow customers to more quickly spot unexpected spikes in water usage, which may be caused by a leak or running faucet. 

CFPUA also will be installing wireless meters at every Town customer’s property, allowing staff to read meters without having to come onto private property. 

Another change coming is that Wrightsville Beach customers will no longer be able to pay their water and sewer bills at Wrightsville Beach Town Hall. They will have access to the many convenient payment options that current CFPUA customers have, including by automatic credit card or bank draft, online, by text, by phone, by mail, or in-person at CFPUA’s Customer Service Center. 

Infrastructure and Emergency Preparedness

CFPUA is preparing to manage millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure investments throughout Wrightsville Beach, projects that will improve the Town’s water and sewer systems and reduce the risk of failure. 

The consolidation plan identifies more than $23.5 million in improvements to infrastructure on Wrightsville Beach.

Most critical among those improvements is building new water and sewer transmission mains to serve the Town. Currently, Wrightsville Beach is served by a single water main and a single sewer main running under the Intracoastal Waterway to Harbor Island; these mains are how the Town receives water from and sends wastewater to CFPUA. Having just one main each for water and sewer increases the risk of a major service outage in the event of damage to infrastructure. As part of the consolidation, a second water transmission main and a second sewer main will be built to connect the Town to the mainland.

Numerous other infrastructure improvements are planned throughout Town over the next several years, including replacing 2,200 feet of water mains along Causeway Drive and Salisbury Street, rehabilitating sewer pump stations, and completing a condition assessment of water and sewer mains. The consolidation plan also budgets funds to purchase vehicles, equipment, and standby generators for Town infrastructure.
 
Wrightsville Beach’s current water and sewer staff, who know the Town’s infrastructure better than anyone, have all been offered comparable jobs with CFPUA. Staff from several CFPUA departments also have been surveying the Town’s facilities and infrastructure to familiarize themselves and identify potential improvements.  

Every step of the way, this consolidation has been carefully negotiated and planned, all to ensure a smooth transition for Wrightsville Beach’s customers. To businesses and residents of Wrightsville Beach, we say CFPUA looks forward to serving you and sharing more details ahead of our September 30 consolidation date.