15K-Gallon Untreated Wastewater Spill Reported In Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, NC — Recent flash flooding caused the overflow of more than 15,000 gallons of untreated wastewater at two area water treatment plants, Mooresville's director of public utilities said Tuesday afternoon.

The May 24 overflow events occurred at the Reed Creek Pump Station, located at 253 Golf Course Drive and the Rocky River Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 369 Johnson Dairy Road in Mooresville. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is now reviewing the incidents, the town said.

At Reed Creek Pump Station, an estimated 4,200 gallons discharged from the facility after more than two inches of rain fell in a short period of time, Allison Kraft, public utilities director for the Town of Mooresville, said in a statement.

"The untreated wastewater was discharged into Reed Creek, but upon inspection the spill was not of a magnitude to cause immediate danger to human health or the environment," Kraft said.

At the Rocky River facility, more than 10,000 gallons of wastewater was discharged into Dye Creek Branch.

"As is typical of discharge during a rain event, a sizable portion of the untreated wastewater at both locations was rainwater that had entered the collection system near swelled creeks or in low-lying areas," Kraft said.