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Rhodes Cove sewage dumps into Love Branch
By Carey King
An estimated 80,000 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into Love Branch over the course of nearly four weeks, starting Sept. 27 and ending Oct. 22, Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority director Hugh Montgomery announced last Friday (Oct. 22).
TWSA employees first noticed higher-than-expected levels of fecal coliform along Sylva stretches of Scotts Creek while conducting a water-quality analysis in September. Coliform levels were especially high in samples collected Sept. 27, Montgomery said.
Further analysis over the next several weeks targeted Cope Creek, and then Love Branch in the Rhodes Cove area, Montgomery said.
Though TWSA employees walked wastewater collection lines in search of a leak for more than three weeks without success, a Sunrise Park customer informed the water authority Oct. 21 that he noticed a strong odor near his home.
Love Branch runs nearly parallel to Sunrise Park, emptying into Cope Creek near Race Lane, Montgomery said.
A blockage was located the following day in the wastewater collection system on Love Avenue, a street that runs off Sunrise Park. TWSA employees removed the obstruction, then walked the collection system along Love Branch.
Evidence of raw sewage was found discharging from a clean-out plug located behind an abandoned house built directly over the wastewater collection line, Montgomery said.
Workers repaired the damage to the line, removed the saturated soil and sanitized the area, he said.
The opening most likely occurred sometime between Sept. 17 and Oct. 1, when repairs were made to a culvert on Love Avenue that had been damaged by Hurricane Ivan. TWSA has both water and wastewater lines in that area, Montgomery said.
Fecal coliform is a type of bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and in their waste. The most well-known form of the organism is E. coli.
Water samples taken Monday (Oct. 25) indicated that coliform levels are now significantly reduced in Scotts Creeks near its intersection with Love Branch, Montgomery said.
Results from Cope Creek are still inconclusive, and more samples will be taken next week, he said.
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