Hillsborough residents urged to conserve water, wastewater treatment plant flooded

The town of Hillsborough on Thursday afternoon will update residents on efforts to restore water and sewer services.

Flash flooding from Tropical Depression Chantal sent raw sewage into the Eno River earlier this week, prompting a boil advisory. The advisory was lifted on Wednesday, but people in the town are still being urged to conserve water.

“Testing of water samples found no bacteria in the system. However, customers are urged to continue to conserve water to maintain water supply in the system because the Water Treatment Plant is offline,” read a statement posted on the town’s website.

On Friday at 1 p.m., town leaders will provide an update on the flooding at Hillsborough’s wastewater treatment plant. According to the town, the flooding has resulted in 75% of the town’s raw sewage spilling into the Eno River since Monday.

Eno River State Park remains closed due to high water, according to ncparks.gov. Earlier this week, around 80 people living near the Eno River had to be rescued from floodwaters by boat.

Town officials on Friday are expected to discuss the work underway to get the facility fully running again along with the loss of roughly $7 million in federal grants for critical water and sewer projects.

The planned projects included relocating a pump away from the Eno River and building a water boost station to allow the town to receive water in emergencies. 

The need for upgrades to the water and sewer system is something top of mind for Hillsborough’s residents.

“They have had problems before with exposure to flooding,” said Lee Gordon, who has lived in Hillsborough for 60 years. “I understand there was a FEMA grant they were supposed to receive, but that was canceled, so they’re back to square one.”