Burlington Sewer Waste Spill Raises Concerns

City officials in Burlington are closely monitoring a local waterway after 20,000 gallons of sewer waste spilled into a creek over the weekend.

The spill was first noticed Saturday night in the 1000 block of Morningside Drive. Emergency crews stopped the flooding about two hours later.

Rachel Kelly, a spokesperson with the city, says the incident was caused by a grease blockage in Burlington's aging pipelines.

“All communities are facing aging infrastructure at this point and we are not immune to that, especially in the Morningside Drive area where it happened,” says Kelly.

“The state mandates that we clean ten percent of our lines every year. The city of Burlington is cleaning about 20 percent of our lines every year to try to prevent these blockages and we are also budgeting money every year to address this issue.”

Kelly says heavy rains in the area are helping clear Servis Creek, and diluting the waste as it moves downstream towards the Haw River.

So far, no fish kills have been found. Workers are sending a video feed down the sewer line to look for any additional grease blockages or weaknesses in the line.

The city is also producing information for the public about proper disposal of grease and oil products.

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