It’s official: as of September 30, 2025, CFPUA is the water and sewer provider for the Town of Wrightsville Beach.  

CFPUA and the Town finalized our consolidation after years of careful negotiation and planning. Bringing our services to Wrightsville Beach is not just a win for customers. It’s an indication of how CFPUA – and the community we serve – has grown in the 17 years since it opened.  

CFPUA was formed out of another merger: of the City of Wilmington’s and New Hanover County’s utilities. Since that time, our customer base has leapt from 64,000 accounts to nearly 80,000. We’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure and extended service to parts of our community never before reached by public water and sewer.  

CFPUA is proud to welcome Wrightsville Beach’s customers to our thriving utility. Among the benefits the Town will see:  

• Significantly improved water quality: A number of public drinking water wells in Wrightsville Beach are impacted by saltwater intrusion. Even before consolidation CFPUA has supplied about 40-50% of the Town’s drinking water through a wholesale agreement with the Town. This water comes from the state-of-the-art Sweeney Water Treatment Plant and its new Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters. The percentage of water supplied by CFPUA to the Town is expected to increase steadily after September 30. Wrightsville Beach customers will pay the same rates as current CFPUA customers. 

• $25 million from the State for necessary infrastructure improvements: Thanks to our state elected leaders, CFPUA and the Town were allocated a combined $25 million in funding to pay for upgrades to the Town’s water and wastewater infrastructure. While these projects were identified in CFPUA and the Town’s consolidation study, almost all of them would have been required even if the water/sewer system remained with the Town. 

• A solid foundation for the Town’s future: Without consolidation and the State funding, Wrightsville Beach's water and sewer bills would more than triple by 2030 to pay for the required improvements, according to a Town-commissioned study. The benefits from consolidation – clearly better drinking water, infrastructure upgrades, and long-term cost savings – help provide a solid foundation for the Town’s long-term future. 

Benefits of the consolidation aren’t confined to Wrightsville Beach.  

The merger means that the Town’s 2,800 customers are added to CFPUA’s customer base. That growth is a boon to all CFPUA customers, spreading organizational costs across a larger pool of ratepayers. 

CFPUA has already completed some of our planned infrastructure projects for the consolidation, including upgrading water meters throughout Wrightsville Beach. We’ve also begun a $12 million project to construct new water and sewer transmission lines running under the Intracoastal Waterway, from the mainland to Harbor Island.  

Wrightsville Beach’s customers can expect more improvements to water and sewer lines, pump stations, and other critical assets in the coming years. We are excited to begin serving our new customers, and we invite you to learn more at CFPUA.org/WrightsvilleBeach.