RALEIGH, N.C. — The fight over water treatment in one local town has been boiling for months and got even hotter Thursday night as people on both sides of the debate met in Raleigh Thursday evening.

Butner needs to find a way to treat more sewage. At issue is whether the town should be allowed to expand its sewage treatment plant and then dump the waste water into Falls Lake.

Falls Lake supplies drinking water to more than 300,000 people throughout Wake County and the Triangle.

Town leaders say the expansion is necessary to accommodate the area's explosive growth.

Critics say dumping millions of gallons of pollutants in the drinking supply could be dangerous and costly.

The State's Division of Water Quality will ultimately decide whether to grant or deny Butner permission or change its permit.