WILMINGTON — About 66,000 gallons of sludge spilled into the Cape Fear River early Sunday morning, the result of a sewage overflow reported at the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The spill was discovered around 7 a.m. Sunday and was determined to have occurred between 2:30 and 4:30 a.m., according to CFPUA, which reported the spill around 8 p.m. The treatment plant is located along River Road, on the river side south of the Port of Wilmington.
“Upon the discovery of the (sanitary sewer overflow), staff at the Southside plant immediately took action to mitigate the situation by sandbagging the area and pumping the overflow back into the system,” the authority reported. “Staff are also lessening the environmental impact by cleaning the area and putting down hydrated lime on the overflow area. The plant’s operations have not been affected.”
The notice listed the cause of the spill as an overflowing digester. The authority’s environmental and safety management staff is monitoring water quality to determine the impact of the spill, which is under further investigation and has been reported to the N.C. Division of Water Quality, the notice states.
