The incident began on the evening of Tuesday, December 16, near 310 Williams Street. According to city reports, a contractor working on sewer system improvements inadvertently damaged a section of the infrastructure. The breach went undetected for several hours, continuing through the night until city staff were alerted at 6:28 a.m. on Wednesday.
Rapid Response to a Massive Discharge
Once notified, Hendersonville utility crews moved quickly to contain the damage. The spill was successfully halted by 6:45 a.m., just 17 minutes after the initial report. Despite the fast response from city staff, the scale of the leak was significant:
Total estimated spill: 100,400 gallons.
Primary impact: Mud Creek, a key tributary of the French Broad River.
Cause: Damage sustained during active sewer system upgrades.
Oversight and Cleanup
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) Division of Water Resources was notified on Wednesday morning. State officials will now review the incident to determine the extent of the environmental impact and ensure all regulatory protocols were followed.
Cleanup efforts are currently underway at the site of the spill. City officials stated they are working closely with the involved contractor to implement corrective measures and prevent similar accidents as the system improvements continue.
WNCTimes
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