SPENCER – The Buck Steam Station released about 73,700 gallons of primarily river water to the Yadkin River on Thursday during a repair to station sump pipes.
A gasket failed during a repair to station sump pipes, which resulted in a surface flow of water to the river. Plant personnel have taken corrective action to repair the lines, and the water released was sampled to ensure it would not impact river water quality.
The water released to the river contained no coal combustion byproducts; it was primarily river water with a very small amount of already-treated sanitary waste.
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources was notified. No environmental impact or fish mortality was observed from this event.