More than 450,000 gallons of wastewater spill into Durham creek

More than 450,000 gallons of wastewater were flowing through the streets of a Durham neighborhood on Saturday.

The City of Durham Department of Water Management responded to a manhole overflowing Saturday morning at 1519 Pinecrest Road. Approximately 458,000 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into an unnamed tributary of Sandy Creek. The spill happened after a large tree fell and damaged a sewer line.

Staff were notified of the overflow at 10:32 a.m. on Saturday, and the spill was stopped at 6:10 p.m. The crew plugged the sewer main, set up a bypass pump, dammed the creek downstream and pumped the untreated wastewater back into the sewer system. The city said there were no observed hazards to persons, property or the environment.

Out of an abundance of caution, the city has closed the Al Buehler trail near the spill site – not because the trail was directly affected, but because crews needed to get equipment to the site. The city said crews will continue to monitor and remediate the site.