FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 31, 2001
VANDALISM LEADS TO SEWAGE SPILL
CARY, NC – Vandals tore off the entire frame of a manhole and dumped two wheelbarrows of large rocks into Cary’s sanitary sewer system, leading to a sewage spill of approximately 175,000 gallons behind Cary Towne Center this weekend. The full impact of the spill was mitigated by the quick action of an observant citizen, fast response by public works crews and a well-constructed beaver dam that blocked much of the flow from escaping very far downstream in Walnut Creek.
"Someone worked very hard to make this happen," said Public Works Director Mike Bajorek. "We had bolted the manhole cover down onto the cast iron ring of the manhole, but that didn’t stop these characters. They managed to break off the entire top of the manhole and push aside more than 100 pounds of structure to create the hole in which they dropped the rip rap."
Repair crews arrived at the heavily wooded scene off Interstate 40 at 205 Convention Drive near Cary Towne Boulevard around 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon in response to an odor complaint from an Ivy Lane citizen. The fifteen- member team constructed a temporary dam to block any more waste from moving into Walnut Creek and established a dual-point bypass pumping operation which redirected sewage back into the municipal system so that the blockage could be removed and repairs could be made to the line. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources water quality officials have been to the scene to observe the operation.
"The spill is in an extremely rugged area which has hampered the environmental restoration. It may take a week to fully clean up the effects of this crime," said Bajorek, who noted that so far, about 20 Shiners had been found dead in the shallow creek.
Cary Crime Stoppers will pay up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the individual(s) responsible for this crime. Anyone with information may contact Crime Stoppers at 226-CRIME (226-2746); for Cary Police (press 3 at the prompt) or call 462-2002. All calls will be kept CONFIDENTIAL.
Clean Water Act regulations require a news release be issued by public works operators within 48 hours whenever a wastewater spill of 1,000 gallons or greater reaches surface waters. Paid advertisements are also necessary for sanitary sewage spills in excess of 14,999 gallons.
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PRIMARY CONTACTS: |
Investigator Randy Swallow, Cary Police, (919) 462-2002 |