Pumping on Wilmington construction site halted after resident ‘blows whistle’

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A small hiccup for a Wilmington construction project after a resident called New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington when he noticed something just didn’t look right.

Every morning Philip Thompson takes in the view from his balcony but on Wednesday the marsh wasn’t as pristine as it was the day before.

“I’ve lived here 20 years, we redid our house 12 years ago, and now we can see the marsh really well,” said Thompson.

The water turned from clear to dark brown, which according to Thompson, only happens after a downpour and after speaking to a neighbor, he was was informed the problem was worse upstream.

“He goes, ‘I can hear trucks from the construction site from the old driving range,’” said Thompson.

That’s when Thompson decided to investigate, he discovered contractors working on a new apartment complex on Oleander Drive were pumping water directly into a storm drain connected to the Hewlett Creek Watershed.

Once Thompson realized what was going on he reached out to several agencies including the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, to report it.

“I had to let them know, it’s not right because, you know, if you’re going to build something you’ve got to do it right, and they got caught, that is all there is to it,” he said.

According to Project Manager Kelly Hodges for Harold K. Jordan & Co., Inc., the incident was not intentional and they stopped pumping water into the creek right away.

“We’re pumping the water into an existing storm drain that led off-site,” said Hodges. “At the time we didn’t realize the downstream we were pumping the storm drains were backfilled with sediments.”

The years of leaf and mud debris were pushed into the marsh by the flow of water.

The New Hanover County Erosion Control Inspector instructed the contractors to shut off the pumps, and according to Hodges, they complied.

“We’re getting the storm drain vacuumed out so there will be no problems in the future,” he said.

Thompson said his goal was to hold the contractors accountable.

“The people went over and shut ’em down until they correct the problem, that’s all I wanted out of it,” he said.

According to City of Wilmington spokesman Dylan Lee, sediment is one of the largest water pollution problems in North Carolina, the issue often comes from construction sites which often chokes bodies of water and organisms that rely on clean, clear water.

The problem impacts the entire aquatic ecosystem and food supply by smothering bottom-dwelling organisms, fish gills, and fish eggs.

The murky waters make it harder for fish to see food or avoid predators, and the decrease in the amount of sunlight is also an issue.

The light can’t penetrate the water for beneficial aquatic plants’ growth and oxygenation.

Fecal bacteria can attach to sediment and re-pollute a waterway when sediment is stirred up.

According to Lee, there are ways to help prevent sediment from entering storm drains.

Plant trees, shrubs, and ground cover vegetation which will help the roots hold soil in place and prevent erosion, added mulch to cover exposed soil in landscape beds is also beneficial.

To report construction sites that aren’t following the law, such as a  silt fence falling down,  call 1-866-STOP-MUD.