The town of Lexington spilled more than 7 million gallons of sewer overflow into Midlands-area rivers last year, according to an annual sewer overflow report published Wednesday.
The report, published by the Congaree Riverkeeper, found that Lexington was the worst offender last year for sanitary sewer overflows, which dump untreated sewage into river systems. The number of gallons spilled last year was more than double the amount spilled in 2024 and likely broke a record for the last decade, even rivaling the more than 5.6 million gallons dumped in 2015, the year of Columbia’s 1,000-year flood.
Municipal sewer spills can contaminate water and lead to ecological and public health issues. In 2025, the report noted more than 100 sewer overflows that dumped nearly 8 million gallons of untreated waste into local rivers. Some overflows were caused by flooding while others were caused by failures at sewage pump stations…