Aging plant sends sewage into Saluda River tributary, prompting warnings
Partially treated sewage from an aging wastewater plant poured into a tributary of the Saluda River this week, causing the town of Lexington to issue warnings and raising questions about what caused the problem.
The sewage release into Fourteen Mile Creek was first noticed late Wednesday afternoon by Lexington work crews, according to a news release from the town’s communications office.
Efforts to repair an aeration problem at the wastewater plant were underway Thursday, but it may be a few days until the effort is completed, town spokeswoman Laurin Barnes said.
That makes it important for people to stay out of Fourteen Mile Creek until further notice, she said. The town issued an advisory against contact with the creek late Wednesday. The area of concern is from Reed Avenue to the Saluda River.
“It will probably take a few days to fix,’’ Barnes said. “They are working on the issue, but to get it functioning 100 percent, it takes a little while.’’
Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler said the spill was occurring at the town’s Watergate treatment plant, an old plant that is slated to be closed and users tied in with a regional sewer system.
Stangler said the issue is worth paying attention to.
Improper treatment of sewage means most of the material flowing through a treatment plant is being released to the creek without adequate treatment. Untreated or poorly treated sewage can carry bacteria that are harmful to people.
The town acquired the 291,000-gallon-per-day Watergate plant about three years ago from Blue Granite Water, formerly Carolina Water Service.
Efforts to close the plant are part of a regional plan that for more than 30 years has advocated shutting down treatment plants that affect the Saluda River, a major recreational water that draws canoeists, kayakers and trout fishermen.
“This is one of those problem wastewater plants they inherited from Carolina Water Service,’’ Stangler said, noting that “It is taking them some time to close it out. They are trying to triage it so they keep it functioning until they can tie it in.’’
For now, Stangler said he’d like to know why the Watergate plant had a failure that caused inadequately treated wastewater to be released.
The issue also could be more significant if it is determined that pollution is reaching the lower Saluda, he said.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 12:26 PM.
