The head of the agency providing drinking water to more than 200,000 people in and around Wilmington says unregulated and little-studied chemicals in the Cape Fear River don’t make the water unsafe — as far as he knows.

Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Executive Director Jim Flechtner told legislators in Raleigh on Tuesday that its water meets all regulations. He says the problem is too little is known about emerging pollutants to know whether they’re unhealthy or OK.

The state Senate committee is investigating chemicals in the state’s rivers, especially the chemical GenX, used in making Teflon, which the Chemours Co. plant near Fayetteville discharged.

Senators said a company represented was invited to speak, but didn’t appear. A Chemours spokesman didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

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