Fuquay-Varina’s water transfer request sparks widespread opposition downstream
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — The Town of Fuquay-Varina has applied for an Interbasin Transfer Certificate that would allow for taking water out of the Cape Fear River and placing it in the Neuse River instead.
Water is a vital natural resource for communities, and the Executive Director of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Kenneth Waldroup, says that the process is simple.
“All water providers that use surface water, that use a river like the Cape Fear, they remove water from the Cape Fear River, they cleanse it in a water treatment plant, they distribute it to their customers through water lines, our customers get to use that. You cut on your sink, you take a shower, you clean clothes, and then that water is used, it’s wastewater. We collect that; we bring it back to a treatment plant; we cleanse that and then return it to the environment,” says Waldroup.
The new certificate would allow over six million gallons of water to be taken out of the Cape Fear River each day, having major impacts on our community.
“So, 6 million gallons of water to take it out of the Cape Fear River is equivalent to impacting 27,000 homes. It also, in the event of drought conditions, puts a significant amount of strain on us down here, and from time to time, we’ll go through drought conditions where we’re depending on that water,” says Mayor Bill Saffo.
This request has received some major backlash from the communities at the end of the river.
City of Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo is one of the many in the area who are providing opposition resolutions, saying this will have heavy negative impacts.
“It impacts our schools, our hospitals, our communities, our growth area with what’s happening with people that are moving down here. It impacts so many different aspects of the way we live,” said Saffo.
Waldroup says that water is a necessity for all.
“Our neighbors upstream are welcome to use the water, but it’s a shared resource. They must return that water so we can take it out downstream and provide it to our customers,” said Waldroup.
Beyond Wilmington, at least 23 other municipalities have been against this certificate, including Pender and Brunswick counties and Wrightsville Beach.
Fuquay-Varina Town Manager Adam Mitchell tells WWAY quote: “The town looks forward to receiving additional stakeholder comments on the environmental impact statement and the town’s proposed interbasin transfer certificate at these public hearings and encourages stakeholders to attend and provide public comments.”
