[Durham INC] Broken Sewer Main and Goose Creek

[John Martin]

Hi Folks,
I'm glad to know from Mike and Will that vitrified clay pipe can last so long.  But this still leaves the question of why are sewer mains breaking?  John Schelp reminded me of a story in the Herald Sun from January of 2011 that reported that the City had suffered eight sewage spills--82,000 gallons--in a single month.  In that context, what happened last week at Goose Creek does not appear to be an isolated event.  Somehow, we need to take stronger measures to prevent these spills in the first place.
John Martin, PresidentInterNeighborhood Council of Durham 
Here's the Herald Sun story, courtesy of John Schelp and the Herald-Sun, for those who are interested:
City marks 8 sewage spills -- 82K gallons -- in month27 Jan 2011

The city's Department of Water Management has reported eight sewage spills of a total of 82,140 gallons of effluent in the past month.

The most recent occurred at 1 p.m. Friday when some 50,400 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer at 1414 Woodland Drive and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Ellerbe Creek.

City crews cleared the blockage caused by roots and rags by 1:53 p.m.

Here's a look at the other spills reported since Dec. 27. All spill amounts are estimates provided by the city:

-
On Jan. 20, 6,300 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer main at 25 Saint Andrews Court and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Third Fork Creek.

The city was notified at 12:20 p.m. and cleared the blockage, caused by debris, by 2:30 p.m.

-
On Jan. 15, 7,200 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer at 1007 Taylor Street and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Goose Creek at 11:55 a.m. City crews cleared the blockage caused by rags by 1:45 p.m.

- On Jan. 14, 1,800 gallons of sewage
spilled from a sewer at 313 Foster Street and discharged into the 
waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Ellerbe Creek. City crews were alerted at 12:30 p.m. and cleared the blockage caused by rags by 1:35 p.m.

- On Jan. 10, 3,000 gallons of sewage spilled from a 
sewer near 209 Eagle Campus Drive and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Third Fork Creek.

City crews were alerted at 8:30 a.m. and cleared the blockage caused by a broken sewer main by 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 10, 2011.

- On Jan. 6, 2,400 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer at 900 Windermere Drive and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of the Eno River.

City crews were alerted at 7:35 a.m. and cleared the blockage caused by a rock and gravel by 11:15 a.m.

-
On Jan. 4, 2,400 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer at 1534 Cher Drive and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of the North Prong of Northeast Creek.

City crews were alerted at noon and cleared the blockage caused by grease and rags by 2 p.m.

-
On Dec. 27, 8,640 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer main behind 24 Phauff Court and discharged into the waters of the state at an unnamed tributary of Lick Creek.

City crews were alerted at 6:30 p.m. and cleared the blockage caused by grease and roots by 10 p.m.

In each of the cases cited, the city said it cleaned and disinfected the areas in question and there were "no immediately visible adverse environmental impacts or hazards to persons or property."

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources was said to have been notified of each of the spills.

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