More than 421K gallons of wastewater spilled into South End creek, Charlotte Water says

More than 421,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into Irwin Creek in South End between Aug. 3 and Monday, Charlotte Water officials said.

Contractors were pumping wastewater around a construction site along South Tryon Street near Dunavant and Distribution streets and accidentally placed their discharging hose into a storm drain manhole, officials said.

There is no impact on drinking water, Charlotte Water officials said.

A rapid response team with Charlotte Water found out about the spill at 1:45 p.m. Monday, which initially was reported as 4,600 gallons getting into the Catawba River.

Investigators then estimated the discharge likely began on Aug. 3. The spill volume increased to 421,225 gallons after further investigation. That equates to more than 36 large tanker trucks.

“The contractor crew was supposed to pump the wastewater into the next downstream sanitary sewer manhole so that the wastewater could be treated at a wastewater treatment plant,” Charlotte Water stated in a news release.

The wastewater spill was stopped at 4:49 p.m. Monday, officials said.

Charlotte Water said it informed customers in the immediate area via text alert and on the Nextdoor app.

WSOC is a news partner of The Charlotte Observer.

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