Second Pender Topsail Post & Voice article examines current outlook on western Pender County water crisis

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A new report from The Pender-Topsail Post & Voice is taking a closer look at the ongoing effort to provide clean drinking water to residents in western Pender County.

The publication released the second installment of its investigative series Thursday, continuing its examination of a drinking water issue that has affected some residents for more than two decades.

The first report, published last week, explored the history of the problem, tracing it back to the creation of new county water and sewer districts more than 20 years ago.

The latest installment examines developments since former Pender County Water and Sewer Director Anthony Colon and former Water and Sewer Superintendent Brian Terry resigned in February.

The Pender-Topsail Post & Voice Publisher Andy Pettigrew said the county had already begun working with residents to identify solutions before the two officials left their positions.

“Meeting with these folks that live in this area, having community meeting and beginning to try to develop a plan and they came up with some ideas and some plans and folks really began to gel and work together with him,” Pettigrew said. “He fell back to what he called his Plan B, which was get water from Penderlea, which is really county water that comes in to Penderlea and move it down to 421 and then up that way.”

Pettigrew said much of the work that had begun under Colon and Terry has not continued in the months since their resignations.

He said the third installment of the series, scheduled for release next week, will examine potential long-term solutions and what steps county leaders could take to address the lack of clean drinking water for affected residents.