Storm causes million gallon sewer spill in Mount Olive
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 14, 2016 9:57 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Up to one million gallons of untreated wastewater spilled over the weekend from the town's wastewater treatment plant.
The spill was the result of Hurricane Matthew's torrential rains, subsequent flooding and loss of power at the facility at 408 Wilkins Farm Road.
The discharge was first discovered at noon Saturday, Oct. 8, and lasted until 9:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, when power was restored by Duke Progress Energy.
The untreated wastewater entered the headwaters of the Northeast Cape Fear River.
Under state law, spills of 1,000 gallons or more that reach surface waters must be made public.
"The state told us to report up to one million gallons because we don't really know (the total) because the plant was under about three feet of water," Town Manager Charles Brown said. "We had a power loss. It was just a combination of things.
"Even with that we are better off than some people. The Genoa plant completely failed and went under water. The city of Fair Bluff I think has basically disappeared. So all things considered Mount Olive is in pretty good shape."
The plant's generator ran so long that it ran out of fuel, Brown said.
The shipment of fuel the town received had water in it and could not be used, Brown said.
But even if the plant had had power there is little that could have been done with a rainfall estimated at 16 inches, Brown said.
"The guys down there have done a magnificent job probably keeping it from making it even worse," Brown said. "The plant was under water. We had some of the purification equipment that went completely under water.
"So they had to find ways to treat. We went to Walmart and bought all of the pool chlorinating stuff. So we are using that now."