32,000 gallons of untreated wastewater leaks into creek
Published 12:03 pm Wednesday, June 1, 2016
SALISBURY — About 32,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged from the 1500 block of McCanless Road in Salisbury on Tuesday, according to Linda McElroy, communications director for Salisbury.
About 27,000 gallons of the wastewater reached surface waters. The water entered an unnamed tributary to Crane Creek of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin.
The discharge lasted for about 90 minutes and was caused by a pipe failure.
Jim Behmer, Salisbury-Rowan Utilities director, said the facility responded to the call shortly after 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Workers turned off the pump and had to wait for the water to clear before they could fix the problem, which is why the fix took so long.
After the water cleared, crews discovered that an air release valve that was connected to a force main was broken.
After fixing the valve, Behmer said crews removed as much wastewater as they could.
Behmer said there were no adverse environmental impacts.
The department has plans to put in a redundant force main in the pump. The project has been requested in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan.