BLOCKED LINE LEADS TO SEWER OVERFLOW

CARY , NC – Rags and gravel combined to block a portion of the Town of Cary ’s sanitary sewer system resulting in a 11,048-gallon spill from a manhole on Saturday, February 4 at 11:30 a.m. behind Jodhpur Drive .  The untreated waste reached an unnamed tributary of Bond Lake ; no fish-kill was observed.  After unblocking the line and restoring normal flow, Town crews cleaned around the manhole that overflowed.  Crews did not flush the area since flushing had already occurred naturally with the heavy rains. 

“While we’re not sure exactly how the debris got into the line, we don’t believe it was the result of vandalism,” said Wastewater Collection Field Supervisor Paul Campbell.  Campbell added that the debris appeared to have been in the line for some time and likely was not the result of recent construction activity.

The Clean Water Act requires public notice in the form of a news release issued by public works operators within 48 hours of the detection of a wastewater overflow of 1,000 gallons or greater that also reaches surface waters.  Paid advertisements are also necessary for spills in excess of 14,999 gallons.

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