County continues search for southern Hatteras water leak By IRENE NOLAN

Dare County utilities crews have still not located a suspected water leak on southern Hatteras Island.

The Dare County Cape Hatteras Water System, which serves the villages of Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras, reported on Dec. 1 that it had experienced higher than normal water demands since Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 9.

Initially, system officials attributed higher usage to storm cleanup, but the demands have not diminished since the hurricane.

County Utilities Director Ken Flatt said today crews have started from the water plant in  Frisco and worked their way outward, checking every line they can and driving around looking for sinkholes full of water — all with no luck.

The suspected leak, he said, is about 100 gallons a minute, and, through checking levels in the village water tanks, crews have pinpointed the leak is in the Hatteras village area.

Although the suspected leak began about the time Matthew hit the island, officials are not sure that the hurricane caused it.

Flatt said after the holidays — in early January — the nonprofit North Carolina Rural Water Association is going to provide the county with some help in locating the problem.

In its Dec. 1 news release, the county asked residents who noticed leaks to call the water system at 252-475-5990.

Flatt said the system received only one phone call that didn’t lead to the discovery of a leak, but he still wants to hear from anyone who notices a possible leak.