Overview

Changes in western Wake County have increased the challenge of and need for protecting the environment while ensuring adequate water and wastewater treatment capacity. Towns in western Wake County will require more capacity over the long term, even with slow to moderate growth.

Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville are working as partners to meet this challenge. Regional wastewater management facilities offer a more economical, environmentally-sensitive solution than if towns were to try to go it alone.

Years of in-depth study precede land acquisition, permitting, design and construction. These activities help the partners find the best balance between many important and sometimes competing goals, including but not limited to, affecting as few property owners as possible, limiting negative impacts on sensitive environmental areas, keeping utility rates at reasonable levels, and meeting timing deadlines.

The highly treated wastewater from these regional facilities will replenish the Cape Fear River for use by communities downstream. Western Wake towns have agreed to do this by 2011 to help state agencies ensure proper flow in the Cape Fear, Neuse and other rivers.  Because of the 2011 deadline, the Partners have been pursuing permitting, land acquisition, and design activities concurrently.

Read summaries of the project background, phases of study, and options for regional cooperation.

Summer 2007 Update

The Partners are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to develop a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is required to obtain a 404 Wetlands Permit.  Because the federal EIS, developed to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), will also satisfy the requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has suspended the Partners’ development of a State EIS, which began in 2004.  Much of the data developed during the state EIS process will be used for the federal EIS. The latest EIS document, along with other permitting-related documents, is available in the Documents section of this site.

Questions about the Corps process should be directed to:

Henry Wicker
USAED-RG, Wilmington
P.O. Box 1890
Wilmington, NC 28402-1890
(910) 251-4930
Henry.M.Wicker.JR@saw02.usace.army.mil

Having selected and purchased land for the wastewater treatment plant site, the Partners have begun working with a design team for the facilities. Route surveys are underway for the pipelines from pump stations to the plant site and from the plant site to the Cape Fear River discharge point.

Proposed Regional Facilities

> Pumping stations and pipelines to collect wastewater for treatment and a new treatment plant, all shared by Apex, Cary and Morrisville. Holly Springs will continue using its existing treatment plant.
> A pumping station and pipeline, shared by Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, to pump treated wastewater from the new treatment plant - and from Holly Springs' treatment plant - to the Cape Fear River below Buckhorn Dam.
The towns will continue to own and operate their existing facilities and will handle their own water and sewer billing and other customer service.

Policy Advisory Committee

In accordance with Partners’ agreements, an intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee has been established to meet as needed to discuss and make decisions on important issues. Meetings of the group are open to the public.

Reasons for the Project

>>The requirement to return treated wastewater to the Cape Fear basin by January 1, 2011 as outlined in the interbasin transfer certificate that the state issued for Apex, Cary, Morrisville and the southern portion of Research Triangle Park. Treatment plants serving those areas discharge into the Neuse River basin.

>>State regulators’ requirement of Holly Springs to discontinue their treated effluent discharge to Utley Creek.

>>State regulators’ preference for regional wastewater management planning
>>The need for additional treatment capacity to serve growing areas in Wake County

Contact

For more information on the Western Wake Regional Water Reclamation Facilities project, contact:
William B. Coleman, Jr.
Town Manager
Town of Cary
P. O. Box 8005
Cary, NC 27512-8005
(919) 469-4007
(919) 460-4929 (fax)
info@westernwakepartners.org