Latest Havelock wastewater spill sees 1,000 gallons released in Slocum Creek, facing possible fines
A broken part of a lift station near Stonebridge Landing is what caused the latest Havelock sewer spill – spills that have plagued the city since 2015.
This latest spill happened on Feb. 5 where an estimated 1,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was released from the Stonebridge Lift Station and discharged into the Southwest Prong of Slocum Creek. This is the third incident in two weeks to have happened at the same station, according to a release from the city.
This site has seen a total of 29,000 gallons of wastewater spilled. There were reported incidents on Jan. 15 and another on Jan. 22.
The latest spill, according to Havelock City Manager Chris McGee, a part of the lift called the coupling broke. The coupling caused a pipe connected to it to malfunction. McGee said the pipe was less than a year old. January into February has seen a total of three spills within three weeks. The spills occurred behind 603 Salem Ct.
He said he couldn't estimate exactly how much water entered the creek but said the city was able to put lime in place to decrease the severity.
A lift station operates where it raises the water to a higher point so that by gravity it can be pumped to a treatment facility.
“The hose separated…rotten luck. The last time the pump had just come back from the shop, McGee said. We send them every so often to have the manufacturer go through them to see that they are up to snuff. We had had it back for about a week, and when it quit, a couple of wires inside it had become disconnected. We don’t know if that’s something they mischeck at the factory, refurbish. We don’t have any idea what caused it. That’s what happened.”
McGee said the total cost to fix the equipment at the location will be around $30,000.
He said that part of standard maintenance was that the regular pumps had to be pulled, sent, and rebuilt. He said the city hoped to have them back by Tuesday or Wednesday and then reinstalled.
Havelock’s sewer infrastructure is very old and dates back to the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, according to McGee.
According to Robert Tankard, assistant regional supervisor for the NC DEQ office in Washington, N.C. said possible fines for what happened are being evaluated.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate. It was a piece of equipment. I don’t know how to explain it. When you buy a piece of manufactured equipment and then it just breaks, you know, there is no rhyme or reason to it. That’s pretty much what happened,” Tankard said.
McGee said there has not been any sewer spills up until January for two years, but did acknowledge there have been mechanical failures.
He said the last spill was associated with the Westbrooke Shopping Center with a manhole collapse. He couldn’t recall the date or where the manhole was located.
Most of Havelock’s spills have occurred near the end of Oakwood Drive which saw at least 15 spills since 2015. Five hundred gallons of untreated water occurred during those spills.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Latest Havelock wastewater spill sees 1,000 gallons released in Slocum Creek, facing possible fines
