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Update: Long Creek Wastewater Spill

April 24, 2018 – Charlotte Water (CLTWater) crews responded to a broken wastewater pipe near Oakdale Road on April 23rd.

Crews estimate approximately 15.4 million gallons reached Long Creek, part of the Catawba River Watershed. Drinking water supplies are not impacted by this spill.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. Monday, CLTWater received information from Mecklenburg County regarding a sewer odor and fish kill. CLTWater crews discovered a broken 30-inch wastewater pipe at the confluence of McIntyre Creek and Long Creek. It appears recent storms caused trees to fall and erosion of the stream bank up to 50 feet in some places. The wastewater pipe, undermined by the debris, heavy flows and erosion, fell into Long Creek under its own weight.

Slide with green background indicating grass and trees and a thick blue line cutting across it on a slant indicating a creek and parallel to that is a grey line indicating a pipe. In black font in between the creek and the pipe with an arrow and lettering 50FT. Also in between the creek and pipe is a graphic of a tree with blue arrows curving around it. A white box with black border and black font lettering appears at bottom of slide, Three feel into creek washing out creek bed and undermining a wastewater pipe that was 50ft away from creek prior to rain event. On the right side of the slide is a map in a square box with black border. Map has no title. In top left is Charlotte Water logo in white font.=

Ongoing storms and rushing water made containment of the spill challenging for crews. By 10:45 a.m. Tuesday the spill was stopped and crews began cleanup and pumping operations so that no further wastewater will spill.

CLTWater will begin the process of reinforcing the pumping operation with heavy duty bypass lines and pumps. Contractors are also onsite designing the repair. The timeline for repairs is not yet known.

North and South Carolina officials have been notified as well as downstream residents and businesses. Mecklenburg County officials have announced a no swim advisory for this area downstream of Long Creek until further notice.

Related blog post: Crews respond to Long Creek Wastewater Spill

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