Yadkin Riverkeeper monitoring water quality after major wastewater spill
In this WFDD file photo, Yadkin RIverkeeper Edgar Miller is shown about to kayak on the river. The organization is monitoring a major wastewater spill on Bear Creek after a major wastewater spill. WFDD/FILE
The Yadkin Riverkeeper organization is monitoring a major spill in Davie County for potentially dangerous levels of wastewater.
Town of Mocksville officials announced that nearly a million gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged into Bear Creek on August 27. The waterway is a tributary of the South Yadkin River that flows into the Yadkin.
Nicole Eastman, a riverkeeper assistant, says early testing for E. coli shows water near the break and downstream was right on the borderline of being considered hazardous.
Eastman says a pipe 6 feet underground ruptured, leading to the discharge.
"Our biggest concern is that the groundwater is contaminated from this event, since it happened underground," she says. "And so we're not sure of the long-term impact on the river."
She says people should keep an eye out for swimming advisories from the local government and the riverkeeper organization.
*Editor's note: The caption for the photo in this story has been corrected to state that this is a "wastewater spill" rather than a "chemical spill."
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