Key Information:
- The Village is still under a State of Emergency.
- Impacts from Helene as she moved west of our area. Recovery continues in the aftermath of PTC #8.
- The Island Package Center & Post Office will be open tomorrow (9/28).
- The swimming advisory remains in effect and will remain in effect as pumping continues.
- Southport remains congested at times, suggested routes.
- Submit any questions you have about the Village’s storm response.
- Find regular updates on our response to PTC #8 and Helene on our social media channels and the *new* Severe Weather Event webpage.
State of Emergency
The Village of Bald Head Island is still under a State of Emergency (SOE). While most of our sewer customers have been restored, the flows to the wastewater treatment plant are still elevated. Since we still have homes without sewer service and continue pumping stormwater off the island, the SOE will remain in place.
Impacts from Helene
The outer portions of Helene moved through the area quickly bringing some wind and rain, a few tornado warnings, and a marine advisory. She downed a few trees, and some branches and debris fell. There is ponding on the roads in the usual areas, those areas that had not dried up from PTC #8, likely got a little over half an inch of additional stormwater. Ferry service was suspended briefly. The barge was suspended the entire day. There was a power outage that has been restored. We should be in the clear as far as impacts from this storm.
The Village continues to pump stormwater off the island (Day 11) from PTC #8.
There are still a few impassable roads, HERE is an updated list.
19 homes still have submerged grinder pumps. The remaining grinder pumps have been turned back on. HERE is the updated list.
IPC/PO
The Island Package Center and Post Office will be open tomorrow on its normal schedule. USPS mail and packages will be available for pick up. Since the barge was not in service today, packages delivered at Deep Point late Thursday and today have not been delivered to the island. Check the package tracker (HERE) for the status of your package(s).
Swimming Advisory
There is still a swimming advisory in effect for BHI. The BHI Conservancy collects the samples and offered this information earlier today:
There is still a precautionary swimming advisory for Bald Head Island as long as flood waters are being pumped into the ocean since they have the potential to contaminate recreational waters. Beach water samples taken Tuesday on Bald Head Island and analyzed by the state DEQ had relatively low enterococci bacteria concentrations, however.
S16A (River Beach): 31 MPN/100 ml
S16B (South Beach): 10 MPN/100 ml
S16C (East Beach): 9 MPN/100 ml
BHI Creek water samples taken Wednesday and analyzed by BHI Conservancy had similarly low enterococci concentrations.
Please keep in mind that there is potential for bacterial pollution as long as floodwaters are being pumped, and Hurricane Helene could create more stormwater pollution issues. Be safe out there!
Southport Traffic
Traffic remains congested in Southport at times. The City of Southport (and others) have been working with NCDOT to minimize the congestion as there is only one way in and one way out of Southport proper. View this MAP for suggested routes.
Questions on Storm Response
If you have any questions about the Village’s storm response, please email your questions to public.information@villagebhi.org. We will be putting together a Q&A document and will be reporting on our own post-storm action review which we typically do following an event.
Updates Posted on Socials/Webpage
This will be the final update on Helene. Find regular updates on our response to PTC #8 on our social media channels and the *new* Severe Weather Event webpage.