{"id":514563,"date":"2026-03-10T07:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/514563\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T07:19:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:19:17","slug":"florence-residents-point-to-sewage-flowing-into-jeffries-creek-behind-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/514563\/","title":{"rendered":"Florence residents point to sewage flowing into Jeffries Creek behind homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) \u2014 Residents in Florence said a strong, foul odor that has lingered for months in parts of the city\u2019s west end may finally have an explanation.<\/p>\n

Images and videos circulating online appear to show sewage spilling into Jeffries Creek, raising concerns among neighbors who said they\u2019ve seen raw sewage flowing through the waterway behind their homes.<\/p>\n

People living near the creek said the overflow includes fecal matter and toilet paper, which they believe may be coming from the city\u2019s sewer system. <\/p>\n

Many suspect the issue could be the source of the unpleasant smell that has affected the area for months.<\/p>\n

Photos and videos shared on social media over the weekend show what appears to be sewage flowing from manholes into the creek.<\/p>\n

Florence resident, Andy Evans, said the odor has become hard to ignore, especially along one of the city\u2019s busiest corridors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an embarrassment, David McLeod Boulevard is a major thoroughfare coming into Florence, and when you reach Golden Corral between Kimbrell\u2019s furniture, the stench is so bad it almost makes you want to regurgitate,” Evans said.<\/p>\n

According to reports from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES), Jeffries Creek has experienced more than a dozen water overflows since 2023.<\/p>\n

The most recent incident was documented less than two weeks ago. A report from the state agency indicates approximately 100,000 gallons of water were released into Jeffries Creek from a manhole, though the discharge description was listed as unknown.<\/p>\n

Teen shot during overnight gathering in Robeson Co. identified<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials noted that about half an inch of rainfall, along with inflow and infiltration into the sewer system, may have contributed to the overflow.<\/p>\n

SCDES said the city is monitoring the site, has applied lime to the affected area, and has begun water sampling.<\/p>\n

Jeffries Creek is also protected under Florence\u2019s Unified Development Ordinance as part of a \u201cnon-development overlay district,\u201d which is intended to protect water quality and preserve wildlife habitats.<\/p>\n

Evans says the continued overflows are concerning, especially in an area meant to be environmentally protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simple,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI simply want them to stop releasing raw sewage into the Jeffries Creek wetland area.\u201d<\/p>\n

ABC 15 reached out to SCDES and Florence city officials, asking about the timeline and potential solutions for addressing residents\u2019 complaints about sewage overflow into the creek.<\/p>\n

Florence City Manager Scotty Davis responded, saying he plans to provide an update to the city council during their Monday meeting.<\/p>\n

This is not the first sewage overflow reported in the area in recent months. <\/p>\n

In October of last year, the city said about 5,000 gallons of sewage overflowed into Jeffries Creek following heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n

Officials at the time said the incident was addressed with water testing, vacuum truck cleanup, and disinfection of the affected area.<\/p>\n

ABC 15 will continue to follow the latest reports and provide updates as more information becomes available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) \u2014 Residents in Florence said a strong, foul odor that has lingered for months in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-514563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}