Someone in Claremont, N.C. is dumping 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of sewage each week into the city’s wastewater system and it is “creating havoc” at the wastewater treatment plant. Officials have offered a $250 reward to both catch the people involved and put a stop to the problem
According to the Hickory Daily Record newspaper, the plant isn’t designed to handle the additional high-strength waste. City Manager Doug Barrick told the newspaper that someone is dumping the septage, probably into a manhole, on Fridays or Saturdays. He said it would take only about 10 minutes, but it doesn’t show up at the plant for 12 to 24 hours. “As soon as it happened, we knew what it was,” Barrick told the paper.
The strong waste stream kills the micro-organisms in the plant, which normally treats about 250,000 gallons a day. Not only does it take a day or two to replace the micro-organisms, it has caused at least two permit violations at the plant.
The state has provided the city with a list of all 16 licensed septic haulers in the area along with license numbers of their vehicles. All of them were notified of the incidents in late June.
The city has asked the public to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. If caught, the perpetrator would face criminal charges and revocation of any permits and licenses they might have
