SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is one of 145 projects to be granted money from the state to fund drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
The CFPUA will receive $17.8 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Funds and State Wastewater Reserve Program for its Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant Project. CFPUA began the project in late 2025 to replace and expand the existing Southside wastewater treatment plant. The facility is currently permitted to treat up to 12 million gallons of wastewater per day; the new design would allow for up to 16 million gallons a day to be treated.
READ MORE: CFPUA billing structure under scrutiny as city fees linked to increased water shutoffs
The money CFPUA is receiving is out of a total $472 million being distributed across 66 counties from the state.
“Upgrading our state’s aging water infrastructure must be a priority,” Governor Josh Stein said in a press release announcing the funding awards. “These investments will make our infrastructure more resilient in the face of future severe weather or disasters and improve access to clean drinking water for North Carolinians across the state.”
The money comes in addition to the $175 million in low-interest State Revolving Fund loans secured by the CFPUA from the NC Department of Environmental Quality.
The new Southside facility will be built above the 500-year floodplain, to help decrease the chances of flooding the plant. The project is projected for completion by 2030.
“Families and businesses expect and deserve safe water when they turn on the tap,” NCDEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said. “The funded projects will strengthen aging drinking water and wastewater systems and will support healthy communities and a growing economy.”
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