CARY, NC – The seven inches of rain in Cary on Friday briefly overwhelmed parts of the Town of Cary’s sanitary sewer system, causing overflows at three locations. Fortunately, the torrential rains also heavily diluted the untreated waste, mitigating most, if not all, of the environmental consequences.

An estimated 2,930 gallons of untreated waste from a pump station at 110 West Circle Drive and about 6,480 gallons from the pump station at 1100 Buck Jones Road escaped and made its way to Walnut Creek. About 6,500 gallons overflowed from Cary’s northern reclamation facility at 1900 Old Reedy Creek Road and entered Crabtree Creek.

"While we regret that any overflows occurred, our system performed remarkably well in the record-setting weather," said Town of Cary Utilities Division Director Rob Bonné. Bonné noted that Cary’s north plant, which usually treats between five and six million gallons of wastewater per day (mgd), actually received nearly 15 million gallons on Friday and again on Saturday. Cary’s south plant went from an average of 5 mgd per day to over 16 mgd on Friday.

To prevent overflows from rain, the Town of Cary has a comprehensive and ongoing inflow and infiltration program to detect and close entry points into the wastewater collection system. Each year, about 40 miles of the nearly 575-mile collection system undergo smoke testing, where Town staff force a non-toxic vapor that looks like smoke into the lines. The smoke helps locate places where storm and other surface water might enter the Town’s sewer system. This leak testing is part of the Town’s continuing effort to provide a safe, economical, efficient, and environmentally sound sewer system throughout Cary.

This year’s smoke testing, which took place in August and September, found 340 infiltration points on private and public property in the test area, which included the Highlands, Picardy Pointe, Wellington Place, Lochmere, Franklin Chase, Lochmere Village, Coventry Glen, Camden Forest, Waverly Place, Lochmere Birkhaven, and Whisperwood. Infiltration points included missing sewer access cleanout caps, roof drains illegally connected to the sewer system and other "cross-connections", and abandoned lines into the system. These problems are being corrected by the Town and by private property owners.

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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