CFPUA, Senator Michael Lee celebrate $25 million in funding to build new water line

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Just two years ago, a massive water line break nearly left hundreds of thousands of people without water.

But a new multi-million dollar raw water line project, funded by $25 million appropriated to the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority (LCFWASA) in the recently passed state budget, hopes to ensure that never happens again.

The new line will be installed at Brunswick County’s Northwest Water Treatment Plant.

That money will fund the construction of the final three miles of the parallel raw water line. The first seven miles of the line are currently under design, and this will eventually lead to a 10-mile-long water line.

The state budget also included $5 million for the LCFWASA for preliminary engineering and land purchase to build a 100-million-gallon water reservoir.

On Tuesday, officials from the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority met with Senator Michael Lee to celebrate the funding.

“It’s very much like that time in the 80s when Interstate 40 was installed. It’s that kind of monumental project for the region’s water supply,” Kenneth Waldroup, executive director of CFPUA, said. “People won’t see it. It’s buried underground. But generations in the future, people will recognize the importance of this project.”

Officials from CFPUA say Sen. Lee was instrumental in helping secure this funding for our community.

“As a legislator and an elected official, it’s important to see what could happen in the future and try to prevent those emergencies from happening,” Senator Lee said. “That’s something we were able to do through this significant investment for our area.”

The project won’t be complete for another few years, but once it’s done it’ll support hundreds of thousands of households and businesses.