Raleigh water crews responded to a sewage spill near the Brier Creek area that caused 1.1 million gallons of waste to be released.
The city said the spill was a result of a temporary pipe failure during a runway expansion project at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The city said the spill, which totaled approximately 1,143,800 gallons, happened on Tuesday around 8:30 a.m.
Most of the spill was contained, but part of the waste reached a nearby creek after wastewater was mistakenly discharged into a storm drain on Glenwood Avenue by contractors, according to the city. The city said notices of violation could follow.
Raleigh water teams were seen on Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of Lynn Road and Glenwood Avenue to support the cleanup effort. The Turkey Creek waterway was impacted by the spill.
“Bacteria contamination is a real concern for human health,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “Polluted water that has sewage in it can carry thousands of waterborne illnesses, including things like cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, infectious hepatitis.”
“People shouldn’t be coming into contact with this creek, and we don’t yet know the extent of contamination,” Krop said.
WRAL News has reached out to the Department of Environmental Quality for more details. The city said the mess will likely take days to completely clean up.
Officials advised the public to avoid the surrounding stretch of Glenwood Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
The city said there was no vegetative damage from the spill or significant fish death.
This is a developing story.