News

Two weeks after a massive sewage spill, Turkey Creek in Raleigh remains high in E. coli bacteria.

Sound Rivers interns Corey Reaves and Caroline DeGroodt returned to the field this week to collect more water samples for testing near the spill site (Site 1), downstream of the cleanup site off Sendero Drive (Site 2), and on Crabtree Creek, downstream of the confluence with Turkey Creek (Site 4).

The first two sites failed to meet recreational water-quality standards: Site 1 results came back at 866.4 MPN and Site 2 at 307.6 MPN, where 235 is the standard. Results from the first round of sampling, directly after the spill, were literally “off the charts,” meaning greater than 2,419.6 MPN.

Site 4, on Crabtree Creek, came back clean during the first round of sampling, but had elevated levels of bacteria this week, which could be the result of urban runoff from this week’s rains, or an indicator that some effects from the spill on Turkey Creek are impacting Crabtree Creek downstream*, according to Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop.

“This spill is likely still impacting Turkey Creek despite rain and the City of Raleigh’s cleanup, though significantly lower E. coli levels do indicate improvement,” Samantha said. “I think these results demonstrate some progress as they are relatively low failures of the recreational water-quality standard and certainly not off the charts, as we saw right after the spill.”

She said, because of the elevated levels of bacteria, the public should avoid interacting with Turkey Creek and consider contamination to be ongoing.

The spill occurred in two parts: first, a sewage bypass line built to circumvent the Raleigh-Durham Airport expansion construction failed. This was cleaned up by the contractor. However, after the City of Raleigh instructed the contractor to dispose of the waste in a sewer manhole, the waste was transported to another part of town and mistakenly discharged into a stormwater manhole. An estimated 1.1 million gallons of raw sewage flowed into Turkey Creek on May 13.

It was community members photographing evidence of the spill and posting to the Downtown Raleigh Instagram account that led to a report to North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality the following day.

Samantha and Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz conducted the initial sampling round two days after the spill, as Raleigh Water crews were using hoses to flush out the sewage. The hope was that flushing the creek ahead of last week’s predicted rain would resolve the issue, however, the amount of rain in the area was less than expected.

“For now, we urge folks to continue avoiding contact with Turkey Creek and practice caution when coming into contact with Crabtree Creek,” Samantha said.

According to intern Corey, the odor of sewage could still be detected at Site 1.

*Update: An additional sample taken from Crabtree Creek, upstream of the confluence with Turkey Creek, came back within recreational water-quality standards on Friday.

NCDEQ also collected water samples for bacteria testing the day after the spill. A request for NCDEQ’s results returned YSI meter readings (reflecting dissolved oxygen, pH and turbidity), but did not include any bacterial data.

Samantha said the City of Raleigh was working on a notice of violation for the contractor, in addition to fines to cover the cost of the cleanup, last week.

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