BLOCKED LINE LEADS TO SEWER OVERFLOW IN CARY

CARY , NC – Grease and debris blocked a portion of the Town of Cary ’s sanitary sewer system resulting in a 1,094-gallon spill from a manhole near the 300 block of Kettlebridge Drive on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 9 a.m.   All of the untreated waste reached an unknown tributary to Community Park Lake; no fish-kill was observed.  After unblocking the line and restoring normal flow, Town crews cleaned the area around the manhole, cleaned the area of overflow into the stream, and then pumped any remaining wastewater back into the collection system. 

Helpful publications from the FOG program, which are available at www.townofcary.org, include:

• What do I do if I have a sewer blockage?

• Do's and Don'ts - Sanitary Sewer System

• FOG Bill Insert

• How to dispose of cooking grease

• How blockage affects the sewer system

• Common items that should not be disposed of in the sewer

The web section also includes a short video of the inside of a sewage line coated with grease.

The Clean Water Act requires a news release to be 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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