Sewage Overflow Costs Cary Thousands Of Dollars Each Hour

CARY, N.C. — The town of Cary is paying more than $2,500 an hour to keep more than 4 million gallons of raw sewage out of Swift Creek.

As many as 20 tanker trucks are hauling the human waste around a broken pipe at the Swift Creek Pump Station on Holly Springs Road and putting it back into the sewage treatment system.

Crews are working 24 hours a day until the pipe, which broke as a result of last Friday's heavy rains, is fixed.

According to Cary Utilities Director Rob Bonné, work crews were building an expansion to the pump station when remnants from Tropical Storm Alberto dumped more than seven inches of rain on the town. Water washed out the construction site and dirt caved in, weakening the existing pipes. Friday's rains caused the second collapse, dislodging the pipe.

A temporary fix to the pump station could be in place as early as Tuesday evening, officials said, but rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday could complicate the situation.

A section of Holly Springs Road between Penny Road and Cary Parkway will be closed until they do.

Friday's leak, in which more than 3 million gallons of sewage flowed into Swift Creek, was the second sewage overflow in Cary within the last 10 days.