Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties are all experiencing mandatory water restrictions that were put into place on October 13^th due to a pipe break in Riegelwood. The Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority’s pipe supplies water to utilities to all three of these counties. This pipe break is affecting areas such as Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Leland, Wilmington, etc.

The break in the 48-inch pipe is nearly the size of a football and that break alone is causing 12.5 million gallons of raw water to spill through it daily.

One of the main reasons that Brunswick County has declared a state of emergency and is pleading with public water customers to reduce water usage is to be sure there is enough water for emergency needs such as firefighting efforts and hospital uses.

Here are a few tips on how to help conserve water:

• Limit your shower time
• Turn off water when not directly using while brushing teeth, washing hands, washing dishes, etc.
• Only run dishwashers or washing machines when you have a completely full load
• Limit the number of times you flush the toilet daily

The water flow from Kings Bluff Pump has been cut in half by the break, going from about 24 million gallons of water flow a day to nearly 12 million gallons of water a day. A temporary patch would be ideal in this situation, but they were not able to successfully patch it when attempting to on Wednesday morning.

Since the patch was unsuccessful, crews began constructing a temporary bypass on Thursday morning so that water would go around the break and allow it to keep flowing until the break itself is repaired. This project is expected to be completed sometime next week. The main delay in this repair is that the surrounding counties do not have parts that this break is requiring to fix, so they are waiting on parts to be flown in from other parts of the country.

Car washes have made attempts to save water by reducing their number of open hours each day and the city of Wilmington is holding back on street sweeping and power washing in some areas until the pipe is repaired. If you do see areas throughout the city using their irrigation systems still during this mandatory water restriction, it may be because their water comes from a pond.

Brunswick County Emergency Services are preparing for the worst and are there to help you if needed. They have 480,000 gallons of bottled water on hand, which is equivalent to four days worth of water for residents. Please be safe and make sure you follow all mandatory water restrictions in your area!

By Kimberlin S. Murray, Legal Assistant at Collins Law Firm

North Carolina residents have been keeping a close eye on Hurricane Matthew this past week.  On Monday, Governor Pat McCrory issued a state of emergency for 66 North Carolina counties, including New Hanover County, Brunswick County, and Pender County.  This hurricane was supposed to directly hit the coast, but the latest forecast track shows that this powerful storm is expected to make a sharp turn to the east as it nears the North Carolina Coast. This sharp turn is caused by an upper level trough which will move towards the eastern United States and force the hurricane away from moving up the east coast. It will also likely weaken into a Category 1 hurricane by this point.

Evacuation orders remain in place because Hurricane Matthew is still expected to brush our coast and could still bring damaging winds and flooding. To ensure safety, The University of North Carolina Wilmington has even issued a mandatory campus evacuation for all students starting Thursday at 12 p.m.

Although things are looking better for North Carolina, areas such as Wilmington, Southport, and Oak Island may still encounter dangerous weather conditions, so it is best to continue to be over-prepared. Here are a handful of tips that the Red Cross suggests you do to be prepared for a hurricane:

• Bring in anything that can be picked up by the wind (lawn furniture, bicycles, etc.)
• Fill your car’s gas tank
• Talk with your family and create an evacuation plan so that you are always prepared
• Make sure you have at least a 3-day supply of water
• Make sure you have flashlights, batteries, and a first aid kit
• Drive only if necessary and avoid flooded roads

These dangerous weather conditions may cause more traffic accidents and traffic citations, so we encourage everyone to be safe and extra cautious on the roads this weekend.  However, if you or someone you know gets into an accident or receives a traffic ticket, please give us a call at 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

By Kimberlin S. Murray, Legal Assistant at Collins LAw Firm