A grease-packed sewer line in south Charlotte sent roughly 1,180 gallons of untreated wastewater into McAlpine Creek on Thursday, after a blockage near Round Hill Road backed things up enough to spill into the waterway. Charlotte Water crews moved in to clear the mess, while the utility warned nearby residents and shared reminders on how to keep similar overflows from happening again.
What Charlotte Water reported
Charlotte Water pegged the overflow at about 1,180 gallons and traced it to a grease blockage in the collection system, according to WCNC. In its notice to the public, the utility ran through a familiar but often ignored list of items that should go in the trash instead of down the toilet or sink: paper towels, wipes, hair, cotton swabs and feminine products.
The alert also reminded residents that used oils and grease belong at a full-service recycling center, not in kitchen drains. Anyone who sees or smells sewage is urged to call 311 or 704-336-7600 so crews can get on-site quickly.
How residents can help prevent overflows
Charlotte Water stresses that many sanitary sewer overflows start with fats, oils and grease, along with everyday items that do not break down once they hit the pipes. The utility’s sanitary sewer overflow guidance lays out what should be tossed in the trash, recommends taking used cooking oil to a recycling center, and advises that sinks be used only for liquids and small food scraps.
For more details on how crews respond to spills and what households can do to help keep wastewater in the pipes where it belongs, see Charlotte Water.
Not an isolated problem
The latest McAlpine Creek spill is part of a pattern Charlotte has been wrestling with this year. In March, about 1,550 gallons reached the same creek after a blockage caused by grease and wipes, according to WSOC. Then in April, local outlets reported that tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater flowed into a tributary of Lake Wylie after a separate failure…