News

The ongoing pollution issue in Kinston has been resolved.

“There does not appear to be an ongoing sewage problem anymore,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “The last two rounds of testing have indicated much lower bacteria levels in the stormwater outfall.”

Sam and Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register have been working with the City of Kinston since Sam discovered the issue while walking her dog, Charlie, and the pair stumbled upon murky, odorous water flowing into the Neuse River from a stormwater outfall. After taking samples, testing the water and getting results of extremely elevated levels of bacteria in the samples, Sam alerted the city.

“The city did an extensive search, and found a number of problems,” Sam said. “But in January, they found an old pipe that was exfiltrating, or leaking, into the storm drain.”

After replacing the pipe, the City said the problem was resolved, and according to the science, it has been.

“It looks like the City has addressed the problem, which is really exciting,” Sam said. “This is a good example of ways we can work with a city to get solutions.”

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