1M Gallons of Sewage Spills Into Moore Creek

Southern Pines, N.C. — A million gallons of raw sewage spilled from a wastewater pumping station in Southern Pines Sunday and early Monday, officials said.

Moore County Manager Cary McSwain said a generator running a pump at the station, located off U.S. Highway 1 at Midland Road, ran out of gas Sunday morning. About 1 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled out before workers discovered what happened Monday morning, he said.

The sewage spilled into McDeeds Creek, a tributary to Little River, officials said. Investigators with the state Division of Water Quality monitored the impact of the incident on the creek and river Monday and Tuesday.

T.A. Loving Co., which was expanding the pump station, was responsible for keeping the temporary pumps operating. But the contractor locked out the oil company delivering diesel to the station for the pumps, causing them to run out of fuel and shut down, officials said.