Thomasville officials claim the sewage leak was first discovered on Aug. 4, reporting that 385,000 gallons spilled into North Hamby Creek, which feeds Abbott’s Creek and runs into High Rock Lake. A person working at the Hamby Creek water treatment plant later contacted Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Najouks claiming 15.93 million gallons of sewage actually spilled, forcing city officials to amend their report on Sept. 8, following a visit from the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations division. Lewis thinks the leak, which is believed to have occurred between July 16 and July 25, goes back farther than that.
“People need to go look at what we’re talking about,” Lewis said. “They don’t know what we’re talking about sitting in some office somewhere. They need to look at the water, especially over in the Abbott’s Creek area across from the bridge on Route 8 and see if they don’t agree that this has been going on for quite awhile. A little bit of sewage wouldn’t cause that algae to be growing in that shallow water like that, from the ground up. The stench of the water has been there for a year.”
Najouks agreed.
“I have had others e-mails saying the same thing so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was an ongoing thing,” said Najouks. “There’s still a lot of suspicion about the time, how they reported it and how they handled it. Everything that they have been doing is odd.”
Najouks, who started his current job last fall, is a long-time water quality advocate who helped uncover 20 violations at Raleigh’s sewage treatment plant in 2002, leading to the city spending more than $50 million to upgrade its facility.
At the close of Monday night’s city council meeting, officials said testing had been done on the water at the mouth of Abbott’s Creek where it enters High Rock Lake and normal levels of contaminants were reported. High Rock Lake, while also being a tourist attraction, is the major drinking water source for Salisbury. Najouks said he expected the tests would be normal due to the fact the spill was two months old, but felt it was important the city announced the water isn’t an immediate threat to the public.
“[The spill] can create algae blooms which can impact the taste and odor of Salisbury’s drinking water,” Najouks said. “That is being overlooked in this issue. As far as the environmental and potential health impacts from algae blooms impacting the drinking water supplies are still relevant issues that need to be addressed. People need answers, and quite frankly Thomasville has to face the music and accept responsibility and answer to this problem.”
Earlier in the week, a supervisor with Thomasville Public Works resigned due to the controversy, according to City Manager Kelly Craver. Thomasville could be staring at a huge fine from the North Carolina Division of Water Quality to the tune of $32,500 a day for the 20-day long spill. Lewis doesn’t feel like a fine will solve the problem.
“Fining them and sending money up to Washington and the EPA, how’s that going to help me and my neighbors?” asked Lewis. “They are going to just flush it down the drain up there. This is the way you cover stuff up. You blame it on someone then you get rid of them.”
Lewis said he has contacted Congressman Howard Coble’s office regarding the spill and is organizing a petition for concerned High Rock Lake residents. Lewis’ two infant granddaughters became ill with diarrhea after swimming in the water and he would like to hear city officials make a statement as to the safety of the lake.
“I’m going to try and get some people’s feet back to the fire and try to get this thing resolved,” Lewis said. “I would like for them to address the people and fill us in as to what they’re going to do and what procedures they’re going to take about making sure the water isn’t polluted so that it’s not unhealthy for people to be in it or around it. Everyone one of them knew there was a problem there and has been a problem.”
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 888-3578, or at duke@tvilletimes.com.
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