BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The fastest growing county in the state could soon have hundreds more water and sewer customers paying for utilities.
At the very least, Brunswick now has over half a million more dollars worth of water and sewer assets.
RELATED: Leland continues path of annexation, aims to extend sewer service on Highway 17
On Monday, Brunswick County Commissioners accepted a total of $535,748.06 worth of water and sewer assets. The infrastructure was funded by two developers for four separate subdivisions.
Typically, developers pay for infrastructure before subdivisions are constructed. Once infrastructure in a particular phase of development is completed, the developer will choose, if such a choice is available, which jurisdiction to deed their utilities over to. The jurisdiction that accepts the deed to the infrastructure then assumes responsibility for servicing future customers of that subdivision.
Three water and sewer providers
Unlike New Hanover County, whose sole water and sewer provider is Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Brunswick County is a bit of a utility puzzle.
Between Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO, Leland, and the county, residents of the area have a multiple water and sewer provider combinations assigned. Recently, Leland has looked to streamline some of those utility combinations for property owners in its town limits.
With a Highway 17 sewer expansion design project underway, Leland could have new sewer customers as early as March 2019
Meanwhile, the county is looking to expand sewer service off Highway 87 further into the town of Boiling Spring Lakes, where a majority of residents use septic systems.
At the southernmost end of the county, the developers of Sunset Ridge, Cameron Woods, and Waterbrook Woods handed off their infrastructure to the Brunswick County on Monday. Located in Ocean Isle, the three developments deeded the county both water and sewer infrastructure.
In the Leland area – but not in the town’s municipal limits – the developer of Campbell’s Ridge deeded $107,611.00 worth of water infrastructure to the county.
A Bill Clark Homes of Wilmington, LLC project, Campbell’s Ridge is in phase one of development plans. The 65-acre development site is located approximately four miles down Highway 17 from Brunswick Forest, Leland’s only water customer.
Though Leland provides water service to approximately 2,000 customers in Brunswick Forest, it purchases water from Brunswick County. According to Amanda Hutcheson, spokesperson for the county, H2GO and Leland are wholesale customers of Brunswick County.
“A town’s customers might receive water that is treated at one of the County’s treatment plants though they might pay their bill to the town, if the town is a wholesale customer,” Hutcheson wrote in an email.
Check out the map below for a map of areas that are serviced with water from Brunswick County:
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