Wastewater spill tied to RDU construction reaches North Carolina creek
RALEIGH, N.C. (UI) — Raleigh Water crews are continuing cleanup operations along Turkey Creek after wastewater connected to construction work at Raleigh-Durham International Airport was mistakenly discharged into a storm drain system.
Officials said the incident began during sewer utility relocation work tied to the airport’s runway expansion project. Contractors had established a temporary bypass pumping system to maintain sewer flow while new infrastructure was installed, but the bypass operation failed and released wastewater at the construction site.
According to Raleigh Water, wastewater was initially contained in on-site holding ponds to prevent it from reaching nearby waterways. However, a contractor later discharged the wastewater into a nearby storm drain instead of a sanitary sewer connection, sending flows into Turkey Creek.
Cleanup crews deployed containment dams and began pumping impacted water for treatment at the city’s Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility. Raleigh Water said staff have worked extended shifts and will continue restoration efforts through the weekend.
The utility said contractors increased cleanup resources on May 15 as work continued to remove wastewater from containment areas. Officials expect cleanup activities could continue into next week depending on site conditions.
Raleigh Water said utility and stormwater personnel remain on-site coordinating cleanup and restoration operations.
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