On Wednesday morning, Oct. 10, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board of Directors will meet. They will likely decide whether to go forward with a $46 million dollar expansion. It would include new filtration systems to eliminate GenX and other perfluorinated compounds from the drinking water.
The expanded treatment facility will be built alongside the Sweeney Water Plant off North 5th Avenue in Wilmington. The CFPUA will spend about $41 million in actual construction costs, with the remaining $4.7 million for design, bidding, and permitting, and engineering construction services.
CFPUA Executive Director Jim Flechtner says customers will pay some of the costs.
“We're very conscious of what this means to our customers, not only from a health perspective but also from a financial perspective and we estimate that the impact to a typical residential customer would be about $5 per month.”
Flechtner says he hopes rate increases are temporary.
“We think Chemours and the people who are polluting the river should pay this cost, but the legal process takes longer than our design and construction process. So we're moving forward at the same time that we're continuing to take legal action against Chemours.”
He says it will be about a three-year process from now until the plant is opened.
The CFPUA Board Meeting is October 10, 2018, from 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM, at 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington.