Cape Fear Utility Finds Fuel After Warning Of Water Shortage

WILMINGTON, NC — Hours after the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority issued a dire warning that homes and businesses in Wilmington and other parts of New Hanover County could lose drinking water, the utility said it found a solution. Around 10 a.m. Sunday the utility said in a statement it was critically low on fuel. Florence, currently a tropical depression, has dumped a whopping two feet of rain on Wilmington and surrounding areas and the utility warned residents to prepare for the worst, saying they could lose drinking water if the agency didn't find a fuel source within 48 hours.

"We are in critical need of fuel to keep our water treatment plants running," the utility wrote.

Apparently the agency was able to find a fuel source. Around 1 p.m. Sunday, the New Hanover Emergency Operations Center identified a source of fuel for the utility, CFPUA wrote in an update. Officials don't expect there to be any disruption to service.

"We are working to supply our equipment and generators quickly," the statement said. "There is no immediate threat to water service disruption. We believe that this is a reliable supply that should last us through the duration of the recovery process after Hurricane Florence."

The utility had warned people to fill up bathtubs and other containers out of an abundance of caution. If it couldn't find fuel, vital services such as firefighting would cease operating. Flood waters have made it impossible for authorities to access the area.

"Basically, Wilmington is currently cut off from the rest of the state," the agency said. "Needed resources cannot get here by roads due to extreme flooding."

In an abundance of caution, is asking families to prepare for a possible water shortage. We are not asking you to leave your homes. Please prepare. Follow our progress on Facebook where we are sharing updates: https://t.co/QlOuiLSuSD
— CFPUA (@CFPUA) September 16, 2018

Wilmington was one of the cities that suffered the brunt of Florence's wrath. Wilmington police on Friday reported the first Florence-related deaths. A woman and her infant were killed when a tree fell on their home. The baby's father also was hurt and was taken to a hospital, police said.

About 90,000 Duke Energy customers in New Hanover County are in the dark and a slope collapsed at a coal ash landfill in Wilmington. Stormwater "may have come into contact with coal ash from a lined landfall" at the Sutton Power Plant, Duke Energy said.

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