Estimated 75,000 gallons of sewage spills overnight into ICW on Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach, NC (WWAY) – Wrightsville Beach crews responded to a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) that occurred Saturday night just before midnight near the Heidi Trask drawbridge.

Crews identified the problem as a failure on the NEI 1 force main.

Wrightsville Beach Public Works staff was able to stop the overflow and isolate the affected portion by closing valves on both sides of the bridge. Pump-and haul operations are ongoing to minimize service disruptions and environmental impacts while Public Works construction crews make the necessary repairs to the force main.

We heard from town manager Tim Owens who tells us wastewater treatment was operating properly as of Sunday afternoon on the island.

Approximately 75,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged into the nearby Intracoastal Waterway.

Public Works Water & Sewer staff members will be conducting water quality testing in various locations near the site and initial results will be published in the next 24 hours. This spill was reported to the N.C. Division of Environmental Quality.