Plant that spilled sewage into Columbia rivers was fined for other violations
Stay out of the water.
That’s the message from health officials warning swimmers and others about the lower Saluda River and the Congaree River days after a significant sewage spill.
The spill
The spill at the Stoop Creek sewage plant, run by Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation, happened Thursday night. Heavy rains and local flooding caused Stoop Creek to overflow its banks and swamp the company’s wastewater plant, The State reported.
Stoop Creek runs into the Saluda River between Interstates 20 and 26, northwest of Columbia in the St. Andrews-Irmo area, above Riverbanks Zoo & Garden.
Equipment at the wastewater plant was running late Friday afternoon, but it will take several days before operations are completely restored, according to the Congaree Riverkeeper. The environmental organization — dedicated to protecting the Congaree, the Saluda and the Broad rivers — said the wastewater plant normally processes more than a million gallons of sewage a day, “so this is a very significant spill.”
The facility is permitted for 2 million gallons per day, and it averaged around 1.8 million gallons per day in the past year, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The aftermath
As of Sunday morning, Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation said everyone should continue avoiding contact recreation in the rivers running through Columbia because bacteria levels remain high from the raw sewage spill. Contact recreation includes activities like swimming, kayaking, wading, tubing and paddling.
DHEC spokeswoman Cristi Moore said no additional signs or advisories are being posted about the ban.
The Congaree Riverkeeper said the spill is unfortunate because the Saluda and Congaree are popular spots for recreation in the summer, and temperatures have soared into the 90s in the days following the spill.
“Water quality samples are currently being evaluated and the company expects overnight improvements in water treatment,” Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation spokeswoman Andrena Powell-Baker said Sunday in a news release. “Water quality sampling will continue until safe bacteria levels occur.
The ban will be in place until those bacteria levels drop, the Riverkeeper said.
“It will take a few days for operations to be fully restored,” Powell-Baker said.
Because the spill is an ongoing situation, DHEC said the amount of sewage that leaked into the rivers is not known.
Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation said its working with DHEC in the recovery and efforts to resume normal treatment processes at the plant. Moore said DHEC employees are supplying technical support, but only as it is requested by Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation.
Powell-Baker said Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation brought in hydrology experts to examine the cause of the flood and how it could be prevented in the future.
“It is the facility’s responsibility to take action to minimize the spill’s impact on our state’s waterways and be protective of public health,” Moore said.
Past violations
DHEC officials said the agency recently took an enforcement action against Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation. The consent order was executed on July 31 because Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation did not comply with e. coli discharge limits, documents show.
That violation was the only enforcement issued against the wastewater company in the past five years, according to DHEC. While Palmetto Wastewater Reclamation could have faced a $10,000 fine for every day of the violation, it was ordered to pay a $2,800 penalty, documents show.
Sewer spills have been a threat to the Saluda River and other area rivers for years because of aging utility lines and, in some cases, poorly run treatment plants or flooding.
The plant at Stoop Creek has had its share of those troubles. Under former owners, the plant had an array of problems, including one in 2008 that allowed up to 1 million gallons of sewage to spill into the Saluda River, The State has previously reported. Regulators warned against swimming in the river for several days during the summer’s prime recreation season that year.
Stoop Creek also suffered from a major pipe break in 2016. The broken pipe allowed poorly treated sewage to leak possibly for weeks.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
