Earlier this month, the federal Environmental Protection Agency made Thomasville employees recalculate an amount of 385,000 gallons of raw sewage that was initially reported by the city Aug. 4 to the N.C. Division of Water Quality, city officials said.
The untreated wastewater spill, which began July 13 and ended Aug. 4, came from the North Hamby Creek Outfall Line near Baptist Children’s Home Road, and sewage spilled into the North Hamby Creek in the Yadkin/Pee Dee River Basin, which flows into High Rock Lake. City officials said the wastewater spill happened as a result of a manhole that collapsed, possibly during or after a rain storm on July 13.
According to Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks, EPA officials conducted their investigation based on a report he received on Aug. 28. Naujoks said he received a tip from an employee at the Thomasville Wastewater Treatment Plant who claimed plant officials intentionally under reported the spill totals to the media.
The EPA investigation concluded the spill was underreported because of “miscommunication,” according to Morgan Huffman, the city’s public services director. Huffman said the EPA told Thomasville officials there was no “criminal intent” by city employees.
At the Thomasville City Council’s monthly meeting Monday night, Naujoks pleaded with the City Council to hold a public hearing to announce its findings from a city investigation into the matter and to let the public know the results of water tests at High Rock Lake.
“This is an egregious spill,” Naujoks said. “The way it was handled was not very well. You have to answer to the public. The public has the right to know what the public health ramifications are, what the city is doing to investigate the matter, what they are going to do to hold whoever did it accountable and what the city is going to do in terms of developing an action plan.”
Naujoks left the meeting before Thomasville officials said what the results were from the samples that were taken Saturday at High Rock Lake.
“Absolutely normal levels of pollution were found,” City Attorney Paul Mitchell said. “There is no evidence of the spill out there. We are going to pursue it to the end. We have cooperated fully with the federal officials and the Environmental Protection Agency. We have cooperated fully with N.C. Division of Water Quality. We will cooperate fully and report fully to the people of Thomasville and Davidson County because they deserve that kind of reporting.
Mitchell also said the City Council met prior to the meeting in closed session to discuss “legal matters in relationship to this recent sewer spill.” He said a city investigation is under way and officials should have something to report in the “near future.”
dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
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