New development on hold in East Durham as sewage is 'at full capacity'

New development in a portion of East Durham is stalled because sewage is "at full capacity" in the area, and a fix is years away. 

Landowners in the impacted zone contacted WRAL Investigates, stunned by the situation, and frustrated. The landowners said they stumbled upon the information online, in a "letter to industry" on the city's website, yet they did not receive any communication about the issue from city officials. 

"The letter is called a letter to industry," said Jeff Goldman, who both owns land in the impacted zone and represents others who do. "I'm a broker with one of the bigger firms in the downtown area, and I never got that [letter] ... I don't know who the 'industry' is if the builders that I know and the clients that I work with hadn't seen it. I don't know who they sent it to."

The letter, dated Dec. 19, 2025, and written by the Department of Water Management Director Donald Greeley, explains that, because of the capacity issue, no new water or sewer hook-ups will be approved by the City in the affected area without first getting special permission. 

"I’ve never heard of this happening," Goldman said. "[I] never would’ve thought in a million years this would be an issue that could potentially happen."

The affected area is shown on a map as part of the letter, spanning loosely from Ellis Road to East Club Boulevard, though exact street boundaries are not fully listed. 

A spokesperson for the city's Water Management Department said the area spans roughly five square miles in the city. That would amount to about 5% of the land area of the city. 

In a statement, Water Department spokesperson Joe Lunne wrote that, in each case, "the City will assess if there are other temporary or permanent options for developers based on the location and size of the development ... If we cannot identify any other options, then the development will have to wait for the outfall improvement construction to be complete before service is allowed to connect."

The letter explains that a fix is years away, with upgrades to the system expected in 2029 and 2030.

"I think the timeline is what’s gotten everyone shook a little bit that it’s going to take four to five years, which really means probably longer," Goldman said.

WRAL Investigates sat down for an interview with City Manager Bo Ferguson. He said the city is working to expedite the timeline.

"I wouldn’t want to give broad perspectives about what is achievable or what’s not until we get more information about what needs to be done," he said. "At every step, I've asked our staff to identify ways to make sure we deliver this project as quickly as we can."

Ferguson noted that the city is bringing in a project manager, on contract, to specifically oversee this project.

WRAL Investigates asked who was notified about the issue, and whether Ferguson believes that was handled appropriately. 

"We notified the development community broadly," Ferguson said. "We have a list of developers who we work with regularly, we have the homebuilders associations in the triangle...We have heard feedback that there were people who did not get that information. We absolutely take that into account to improve our system going forward." 

WRAL Investigates also asked why the city did not identify the capacity issue sooner. Ferguson said new technology alerted the city to the issue.

"We implemented a new process to improve our modeling so that we could catch problems sooner," he said. "That new process identified this problem ... I want residents to know first and foremost that we absolutely regret being at capacity but that is information we got because we are doing a better job of figuring out where our capacity is at."

Ferguson said they have done the same tests for capacity around the city, and only the eastern Durham Goose Creek Basin area was full.

"It is the only area we found that is already at capacity," he said. "It showed us other areas that are near capacity, and we are lining those projects up next."

Thomas Hennessey, owner of development firm West 4th, LLC, says a few of his projects are impacted, including one on North Guthrie Avenue, where he planned to build 21 one, two and three-bedroom homes in a "cottage" style community.

He, too, is stunned about the lack of communication from the city, saying he learned of the letter to industry through a friend.

"There’s been no announcements from the city," he said. "I watch every single council meeting, I watch every single work session meeting ... I feel like the city’s just not doing [its] part. They're asking so much from the development community to try to add housing, to try to promote walkability, to try to stop car dependent sprawl, and here we are, we’re ready ... Now we can’t. They don’t have the infrastructure, or they don’t have the process or the system to actually do what they want."

After WRAL Investigates started asking questions, a city spokesperson told WRAL Investigates that Water Management will present an update on the situation at the March 5 Durham City Council work session.