Water Resources Engineer I Tyler Haislip enjoys a glass of water with new customer Josephine Butler.
After 26 years of advocating for quality drinking water for her neighborhood, Mrs. Josephine Butler got her wish. On July 23rd, she and others in Whitehurst Station became Greenville Utilities water customers.
Whitehurst Station is a community just north of Greenville along Staton Mill Road and was the focus of a partnership between GUC and Pitt County to extend access to reliable public water. Since 1999, Mrs. Butler has led the effort to replace her community’s aging wells that have been wrought with bacterial contamination, rust, limited supply, and constant failures.
Official planning for the project started in 2022 when the County began discussions with GUC. Later in 2023, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners approved the use of $1 million from their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation to assist in extending the water line.
The project cost came in just under the allocation and ended up being fully funded by the ARPA, which gave the 19 property owners in the area the opportunity to connect to our Water system without being charged for connection and installation.
Construction began in April to extend an existing GUC water main along a 1.9-mile stretch of Staton Mill Road. The extension finished up in June after the line was fully installed and tested, and home connections took place through early July.
On the evening of August 4th, Mrs. Butler went before the Pitt County Board of Commissioners to thank them and Greenville Utilities for coming through with clean, reliable water for her and her neighbors.
“It is absolutely wonderful to have water service,” said Butler in her public remarks. “Not having to purchase and haul water for domestic use is a real benefit. We are proud to have GUC as our water provider.”
Mrs. Butler later told us during an interview that for the first time in many years, she is able to wash all of her laundry in the comfort of her home without fear of rust stains.
“Josephine Butler has been a pleasure to work with,” said Water Resources Engineer I Tyler Haislip. “Despite the rain and hot temperatures we've experienced since the start of the project, it was completed on time and within budget. I know these residents are relieved to finally have reliable water.”
