The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources and the Environmental Management Commission will hold public hearings on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Fuquay-Varina’s Interbasin Transfer (IBT) Certificate request. The hearings are set for December 4, 9, and 11, 2025, in Fayetteville, Raleigh, and Pittsboro. Each hearing starts at 6 p.m., with speaker registration at 5:30 p.m.
Fuquay-Varina is in the Neuse River Basin. The town wants to transfer water from the Cape Fear River Basin to meet expected water needs by 2030. Fuquay-Varina now gets water from Raleigh, Harnett County, and Johnston County. Officials expect demand to rise above current supply. The plan is to use up to 6.17 million gallons per day from the Tri-Rivers Water Treatment Plant in the Cape Fear River Basin by 2055.
The draft EIS reviews possible environmental effects of the transfer on both river basins. The document is available on the DEQ website and through the North Carolina Department of Administration Environmental Review Clearinghouse. The hydrologic model used in the EIS can be requested. Virtual training sessions on the model are scheduled for December 2 and 16, 2025…