Wrightsville Beach’s well system can produce enough water to meet the town’s needs, but improving the quality of that water will require expensive upgrades to the system, the town’s ad hoc water and sewer committee learned during a June 30 meeting.
The committee heard a presentation from hydrogeologic and engineering consulting firm Groundwater Management Associates (GMA) with several options to provide better quality water to residents in the future.
Currently, a few of the wells have levels of chloride close to the legal limit for drinking water, GMA hydrogeologist James Holley said. The wells have high chloride concentrations because the aquifer the system draws from is so close to the ocean.
The town could choose to simply turn its water system over to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, in which case it would have no further decisions to make. If the town continues to manage its own system, it must first repair or replace failing pipes. Then, it has several options to improve the water quality long term.
The town could replace several of the lower-performing wells around town, engineer William Lyke said. That, combined with a campaign to reduce nonessential water usage throughout town, is one solution to consider.
Aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR, involves purchasing large quantities of pretreated water from CPFUA and injecting the water into the aquifer. Lyke said the town might be able to buy water during the offseason at a lower rate to sell during the summer at higher rate, making that choice more affordable.
“And when you go to recover that water from underground, you’re going to see a significant [improvement] change in the water quality in your system. … People would taste the difference,” Lyke said.
The town could also employ reverse osmosis techniques, which would involve filtering water through a semipermeable membrane to reduce chloride and other compounds compromising water quality.
All of GMA’s solutions to improving the town’s water system will require some sort of water rate increases, town manager Tim Owens said. But GMA owner Dr. Richard Spruill pointed out Wrightsville residents currently pay less for water than inland communities with better systems and source water.
“It’s amazing to me that you’ve been able to operate this system and keep the rates at that level for your customers,” Spruill said. “I’m not sure it’s sustainable.”
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