Helene caused nearly 500,000 gallons of raw sewage to spill into South Carolina area waterways

John Marks, The Charlotte Observer on Oct 4, 2024

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LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Hurricane Helene flooding led to one of the largest sewage spills ever in the Rock Hill region, and several others along with it.

All total, nearly 500,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Rock Hill area waterways, a review of state reports by The Herald found.

Sewage spills, often called wastewater overflows by utilities, can create health concerns when bacteria concentrations are high enough at spill sites. Parasites or other items in wastewater can make people sick with exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A manhole in Sun City, a massive senior living community just off Charlotte Highway in Indian Land, released an estimated 437,958 gallons of wastewater into an unnamed tributary to of the Catawba River. The spill started at 12:30 p.m. Sunday and didn’t stop until 11 a.m. Monday.

Lancaster County Water and Sewer District notified the state Health Department Thursday afternoon about the huge spill earlier this week, according to online reporting through the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.

Utility crews had to cut power to a pump station due to extreme flooding from Helene, according to the spill report. The Catawba River rose into the pump station, with water more than 10 feet above vents and airtight manholes.

That spill almost overlapped another one with the same Lancaster County utility.

An estimated 26,025 gallons of sewage spilled into Sugar Creek when a six-inch force main pipe burst at the Bridgemill lift station in Indian Land. The spill ran from 9:19 p.m. Sept. 26 to 12:22 a.m. Sept. 28. The spill was reported Thursday morning.

The break couldn’t immediately be repaired because it was in a drainage area where water levels were high due to Helene rains, according to the online report. Eventually crews isolated and installed a bypass line for the force main, then pumped and hauled wastewater from the lift station.

Rock Hill and Tega Cay had two separate Helene-related sewage spills that combined for 9,000 gallons. Other news outlets reported smaller spills in Charlotte. The Bridgemill force main spill in Lancaster County came at the same lift station where a pipe break earlier in September created a 54,000-gallon spill.

How Lancaster County spill compares across Rock Hill region

York, Lancaster and Chester counties reported 66 sewage spills since the start of 2021, according to the health department list. The only spill larger than the almost 440,000-gallon spill in Sun City is a 500,500-gallon city of Lancaster spill in September 2021. That one didn’t reach a stream, river or lake.

The Sun City spill accounts for 24% of the more than 1.8 million total gallons spilled in the Rock Hill region, in that span. It’s more than twice the size of any other spill, except the city of Lancaster one.

The largest spill on record to impact the Catawba River is a 15.4 million gallon spill in spring of 2018. It happened near Long Creek in Charlotte, near the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

In York County, spills are typically much smaller than the Sun City spill. The largest York County spill in the past four years is an October 2022 Rock Hill discharge at 180,000 gallons. That’s less than half the amount of the Sun City spill.

Tega Cay had so many problems with the private Tega Cay Water Service system spilling sewage into Lake Wylie, the city bought the utility in 2014 for almost $5.9 million. The city had 42 spills in the 10 months leading up to that purchase. Those spills combined for 298,970 gallons — just 68% of the amount spilled in Sun City.

What happens where there’s a sewage spill?

Sewage spills most often happen when there’s heavy rain. Older utility systems are more susceptible, but events like hurricanes often cause spills across wide areas regardless who operates the systems.

South Carolina had 11 spills between Sept. 1-25, at a combined 82,510 gallons. Since Sept. 26, the day Helene made landfall, South Carolina has had 39 spills at more than 6 million gallons combined.

While heavy rain can cause wastewater spills, it also can help when ones reach streams, rivers and lakes.

Swim advisories, boil water notices and other public health measures put in place until bacteria levels return to safe levels rely on the water system to flush out spilled material. Rain, or in Helene’s case, flooding, helps to flush material through waterways.

There are some measures utilities can take.

Crews spread lime across the spill area and posted signs notifying the public after the Sun City spill. They did the same after the Bridgemill spills. Lime is commonly applied after spills to disinfect areas where bacteria was released and to reduce odor.