Storm Central

PWC power outages have been reduced to 247 as of 2 pm Thursday.   PWC electric customers  still without power or who have damage at their  home that is causing the outage, are asked to call PWC at 910-483-1382.    If a customer’s service line to the house is damaged, possibly by wind or fallen trees, it can cause damage to the customer-owned connection to PWC lines or the meter box itself. When this happens, it is unsafe to turn the electricity back on and the homeowner is responsible for having these repairs completed by a licensed electrician and have an electrical inspection.  PWC will restore service, once the work has passed inspections.  The City of Fayetteville will be doing inspections Saturday and Sunday to help with restoration efforts.    For those customers whose homes may have been flooded due to the rain or rising rivers, if the water level went above the electrical outlets or to the electric meter box, they will also need an electrical inspection prior to PWC being allowed to restore service.

During the storm, the PWC water distribution system had no interruptions or water quality issues. PWC’s water and wastewater plants, all located along the Cape Fear River,  remained operational throughout the storm.   Many water systems in eastern and central North Carolina reported  significant  storm related issues because of Hurricane Florence.    On Monday, the EPA reported that in North Carolina, 28 water systems were  operating with restrictions (indicating boil water advisories are in effect), and 7 are non-operational.  FEMA reported multiple wastewater systems lost integrity and primary and/or backup power due to flooding.

“PWC’s response and water system reliability were so important to our community and local businesses during Hurricane Florence and will continue to be during our recovery“ said Wade Fowler, PWC  Chairman and  local restaurant owner.   “It’s impossible to do business without water because without it, we can’t stay open.”

John Meroski of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau  also commended PWC on its  storm response and system reliability saying “When the world calls 911, Fort Bragg answers the call.  When our community needs power and clean drinking water , PWC answers that call confidently, courageously, and timely.  We are blessed that our Hometown utility got us power and people had no interruption in one of our most important commodities: WATER.”

As flood waters recede, PWC staff is evaluating any impact flood water may have had to the treatment facilities.  Post-storm, PWC water distribution and sanitary sewer collection system crews are also evaluating any impact flood waters may have had to water and sewer lines throughout the system and restoring services to sanitary sewer lift stations.  At least two of PWC’s 73 lift stations are still on backup generation or by-pass until power is restored or repairs can be made.  Three sanitary sewer lift stations located near the Cape Fear River are under repair or waiting for flood waters to recede so repairs can be made.    Flood waters and excessive rainfall caused diluted wastewater overflows  that have been reported to the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.