More than 38,000 Gallons of Untreated Sewage Spills into Unnamed Hillsborough Creek

The Town of Hillsborough responded to a discharge of untreated sewage into an unnamed creek Monday morning. The spill, which the town estimated at 38,400 gallons, is believed to have begun Saturday and has since been stopped.

According to a town release, the spill began due to a fence post stuck in an eight-inch sewer line on Daye Street, northwest of downtown Hillsborough. Wastewater spilled from a sewer cleanout and traveled down a drainage ditch that begins on neighboring Odie Street. The wastewater then ran into an unnamed tributary stream which eventually joins Bellevue Branch. Crews were first alerted to the spill after an odor was reported late Saturday afternoon to the Hillsborough Utilities Department.

A spokesman for the Town of Hillsborough told Chapelboro the report was sent to an individual staff member’s phone number and was not seen until Monday. The town recommends residents report any water or sewer emergencies to the Water Treatment Plant at 919-732-3621. The phone line is available 24/7.

“Please, please, please, call before you dig,” Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell told 97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey Tuesday afternoon. “Because you might do something like that… it was a humdinger, this spill.”

The spill is “not believed to have impacted the Eno River,” the town release said. The Raleigh Regional Office of the North Carolina Division of Water Resources was notified and will receive a written report of the incident. As of Wednesday, the town is not recommending any precautions for preparing drinking water.

The Hillsborough spill comes less than a month after the Orange Water and Sewer Authority responded to a smaller wastewater overflow in Chapel Hill in late June. OWASA reported the overflow, which spilled into an unidentified tributary of nearby New Hope Creek, to be roughly 5,400 gallons. That incident was reportedly caused by built-up grease in the sewer line.

These incidents come as Orange County continues to experience what the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has already declared an “exceptional drought.” OWASA has recommended ways for residents to conserve water, including taking shorter showers, checking for leaks around your home, flushing the toilet only when necessary and turning off the faucet when washing dishes or brushing your teeth.

Featured image via Chapel Hill Media Group/Brighton McConnell

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