Wilmington water at a glance
- Water utility
- Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA)
- Source
- The Cape Fear River, treated at the Sweeney plant, serves about 80% of CFPUA customers (CFPUA)
- PFAS treatment
- Granular activated carbon filters at Sweeney since October 2022; CFPUA reports PFAS at or near non-detectable levels
- Disinfection
- Chlorine, after ozone and UV at the Sweeney plant (CFPUA 2025 water quality report)
- Hardness
- About 50 ppm on average in 2025, which is soft (CFPUA)
- Private wells
- Tested by New Hanover County Environmental Health; PFAS sampling available for eligible wells
Which utility serves your home?
Around Wilmington, water comes from several utilities:
- Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) serves Wilmington and much of New Hanover County.
- Brunswick County Public Utilities serves much of Brunswick County.
- H2GO serves parts of Leland and Belville.
- Pender County Utilities serves parts of Pender County, including the Hampstead area.
Check your water bill to see which one serves you. Each publishes its own annual water quality report, and our test measures what actually reaches your tap.
Chlorine or chloramine: what's in Wilmington city water (CFPUA)?
| ChlorineYour water | Chloramine | |
|---|---|---|
| Stays active in the pipes | Shorter | Longer |
| Taste and smell | Stronger “pool” smell | Milder |
| Ordinary carbon filters | Remove it well | Remove it slowly |
| Whole-house filter media | Standard activated carbon | Catalytic carbon |
Filtering Wilmington water after the Sweeney upgrade
Since October 2022, CFPUA's Sweeney plant has treated Cape Fear River water with granular activated carbon, and CFPUA reports PFAS at or near non-detectable levels in that water. That upgrade works at the plant. A whole-house system at your home handles what comes after it: disinfectant taste and smell, and sediment from the pipes between the plant and your faucet.
CFPUA disinfects with chlorine after ozone and UV (2025 water quality report), which standard carbon removes well. We still confirm what is in your tap during your test before choosing the media.
City water or well water?
On city water, a whole-house system is usually a sediment stage plus carbon or catalytic carbon for taste and odor. Wells often need different media, such as an oxidizing filter for iron and sulfur, sometimes followed by a softener or UV. How whole-house filtration works.
What happens at your free test
Your free test measures hardness, chlorine or chloramine, iron, pH and total dissolved solids at your tap, and you keep the written report. We recommend a whole-house system only if your results call for it. How the free test works.
Where we work around Wilmington
We test homes across Wilmington, Leland, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Hampstead.
Sources
- CFPUA: Sweeney Treatment Enhancements Project (GAC filters)
- CFPUA: annual drinking water quality report
- New Hanover County: drinking water safety and private wells
- NC DEQ: PFAS well sampling for Lower Cape Fear residents
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a filter after CFPUA's PFAS upgrade?
Not for PFAS on Sweeney-treated water, based on CFPUA's reported results. People add whole-house filtration for taste, odor and sediment, and reverse osmosis for an extra barrier on drinking water.
Does a whole-house filter remove chloramine?
Standard carbon removes chloramine slowly. Catalytic carbon is designed for it and is what we use when testing shows chloramine in your water.
Whole-house filter or water softener?
They do different jobs. Filters target taste, odor, disinfectants and sediment; softeners target hardness minerals. Many homes need only one of them.