CFPUA board chairman’s August 18 GenX daily update

Mike Brown, CFPUA Board chairman, will provide a once daily update with information on activity surrounding GenX. Updates will be provided each weekday. Below please find Chairman Mike Brown’s update on CFPUA’s new Special Compound Testing web page and on CFPUA’s Letter to Customers.

1. CFPUA is committed to being open and transparent about issues concerning water quality and source water protection. Several weeks ago, we announced a new “Drinking Water Quality” page on the CFPUA website that would allow the public to find the results of drinking water tests required by the State of North Carolina.

In order to stay ahead of trends and to monitor the performance of our treatment technology, CFPUA also conducts voluntary tests on a wide array of contaminants known as “Special” tests. These tests help us monitor for compounds that may be regulated in the future.

Our new “Special Compound Testing” page will make the results of those tests open to the public for download. The page will be updated monthly by staff, and it will house CFPUA’s GenX results as well.

View the Special Compound Testing page

1. Starting as early as today, customers will find a letter on GenX from CFPUA Chairman Mike Brown and Executive Director Jim Flechtner in their next bill. The letter provides information on the compound itself and summary of actions taken related to GenX to this point. It is in both English and Spanish.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

1. CFPUA is currently involved in several actions related to GenX.

Staff at Sweeney Water Treatment Plant are operating and sampling a pilot test designed to investigate the potential for treating compounds such as GenX at the plant level.

Our lab continues to test for GenX at Sweeney Water Treatment Plant three days a week, and staff will soon begin work with UNCW to identify and quantify other compounds found in the river mentioned Dr. Knappe’s report. On the legal front, our environmental counsel continues to pursue all available options.

CFPUA expects these actions to have positive results for the community, providing knowledge about, and protection for, the area’s source water. However, while they are constantly ongoing in the background, these actions will not necessarily produce updates daily.

That is why, beginning next week, Chairman Mike Brown will move from issuing updates on GenX daily to three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Should anything arise between updates, CFPUA will issue Special Updates to keep the public informed.

1. For CFPUA customers who prefer water from an alternate source, CFPUA is offering free water from a ground source. This water is treated at CFPUA’s nanofiltration plant. On July 13, CFPUA sampled water at this Richardson Nanofiltration Plant—which serves the free water station at Ogden Park—for GenX and it was not detected. This water is supplied by aquifers that have not been affected by Chemours’ discharge of GenX.

Residential CFPUA customers may fill their clean personal containers at New Hanover County’s Ogden Park near the tennis courts at 615 Ogden Park Drive. This is available daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CFPUA will continue to offer this service until we confirm a trend line that is at or below the health advisory goal set by NC DHHS.

For citizens unable to get to the water station at 615 Ogden Park Drive, CFPUA is partnering with the City of Wilmington and area churches to provide free water from Ogden Park.

Churches will transport empty containers to Ogden Park where they will be filled with treated groundwater at no cost. Church volunteers will then bring the filled containers back to the designated churches, where customers can pick them up. Churches will be open for drop off between 9:00 am and 11:00 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and for pick up between 1:00 pm and 3:00 p.m. on the same days.

Three churches in the greater downtown area will be offering drop-off and pick-up services:

• Warner Temple AME Zion Church, 620 Nixon St., (910) 763-6308
• St. Phillip AME Church, 815 N. 8^th St., (910) 762-3573
• Ephesus SDA Church, 1002 Castle St., (910) 762-7755

For citizens interested in participating, please find instructions below:

1. Drop off empty containers at one of the participating churches between 9:00 am and 11:00 am Monday, Wednesday and/or Friday beginning Monday, July 31.
2. Containers should be clean, have caps, be marked with the person’s name and number, and be between one and five gallons in size.
3. Containers should not have previously been used for chemicals, such as cleaning fluids or other liquids not suitable for consumption. They should also be non-breakable.
4. Pick up filled containers between 1:00 pm and 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and/or Friday beginning Monday, July 31.

CFPUA encourages the public to check our website and social media channels for updates as this continues to unfold. We are committed to transparency, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with you through the duration of this process.