Child’s toy blamed for 15,000 gallon sewage spill in East Raleigh
More than 15,000 gallons of sewage spilled into a private pond in east Raleigh this week.
The spill happened in the 600 block of Thistlegate Trail at 9:47 a.m. Tuesday and was blamed, in part, on a plastic, toy baseball bat found in a 12-inch pipe, according to a city news release.
“As one might imagine, a bat is not something you can flush down the toilet, so it suggests that someone opened a manhole and dumped trash in it,” said Edward Buchan, with the city of Raleigh. “Overall, it is not common to find things like bats and odd thing like that in the sewer, but it does happen on occasion, unfortunately – and is illegal of course.”
“By and large, most spills are caused by more common things like grease, wipes and paper towels, often working as an ‘unholy trio’ to block a line,” he said.
An estimated 15,625 gallons of sewage spilled into a private pond near the Neuse River. There was no vegetative damage or fish killed, according to the news release. The closest pond to the spill is Turfgrass Lake Number Two.
Raleigh asks people to contact 919-996-3245 if they see a sewer spill at manholes or pipes or “experience excessive sewer smells.”
