News

Zeta's heavy rain causes sewer spills in city

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 1, 2020

The city of Hendersonville wastewater collection system experienced four discharges of untreated wastewater from its collection system during the torrential rains from Tropical Storm Zeta on Thursday.

Discharges occurred at:

• 685 Greenville Hwy at 8:50 am releasing approximately 200 gallons of untreated wastewater.
• 814 Jonesborough St at 9:03 am releasing approximately 1,800 gallons of untreated wastewater.
• 177 Winding Meadows Dr at 9:13 am releasing approximately 2,180 gallons of untreated wastewater.
• 627 Clear Creek Rd at 10:48 am releasing approximately 1,740 gallons of untreated wastewater.

All the sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) were due to excessive rainfall resulting from the tropical storm. The untreated wastewater flowed into Mud Creek, Clear Creek and King Creek in the French Broad River Basin.

The city reported the spills in accordance with a state law requiring farms, industries and others who operate wastewater collection and handling systems to issue a news release when a spill of 1,000 gallons or more reaches surface waters.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, (NCDEQ) Division of Water Resources was notified of the event on Friday and will be reviewing this matter. For more information please contact Lee Smith or Tim Sexton at (828) 697-3073 with Hendersonville Water and Sewer or Tim Heim with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Asheville Regional Office at (828) 296-4500.