MONROE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — More than 1,500 gallons of overflow entered Richardson Creek after someone allegedly stole a manhole cover in Monroe, according to city officials.
Around 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, August 14, a customer reported the overflow, and crews responded to the missing manhole cover and sanitary sewer spill on Ridgewood Drive. When they arrived, they saw the 50-plus-pound cast-iron cover missing debris blocking the line.
City crews replaced the cover, cleared the blockage and stopped the spill. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was notified as required for untreated wastewater discharge of more than 1,000 gallons.
Boil water notice partially lifted after E. coli found in Monroe water; Union County schools closed
Officials said the vandalism caused roughly 1,545 gallons of overflow, much of it stormwater, to enter a small tributary of Richardson Creek…