The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
An estimated 630,000 gallons of sewage were discharged into the Elizabeth River on Wednesday night following a power outage at a sewage treatment plant near Old Dominion University, according to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, a public agency that runs the facility.
Sanitation district officials on Thursday cautioned about coming into contact with the river between Lamberts Point and the Lafayette River until Saturday. Contact includes swimming, kayaking, boating or fishing.
As severe thunderstorms approached Wednesday, the sanitation district switched to generator power to operate its Virginia Initiative Plant, off Powhatan Avenue. But the generator failed.
Other equipment failed, too, preventing the plant from switching back to its normal energy source, according to a sanitation district statement.
While the generator was being fixed, the sanitation district released sewage into the river for 18 minutes - a rare procedure called a bypass. Without the diversion, nearby neighborhoods could have been flooded with thousands of gallons of raw sewage overflowing the system, spokeswoman Nancy Munnikhuysen said in an email.
Before discharging the wastewater, the sanitation district disinfected it with chlorine, she said. But the sewage did not undergo full treatment, exposing the Elizabeth to high levels of bacteria and other contaminants.
Sanitation district scientists were sampling the affected stretch of the river Thursday. Preliminary findings "suggest minimal to no impact as a result of the bypass," Munnikhuysen said.
The plant remained on generator power Thursday until it could get back to its usual energy source from Dominion Virginia Power, she said.
As required, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality was notified of the bypass, which is allowed by state regulators only during emergencies, Munnikhuysen said.
The Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which handles wastewater for 17 cities and counties in southeast Virginia, expects normal tide cycles and prevailing winds to help dilute the sewage. The agency described the use of the bypass as "very unusual."
Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com
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ok
I think we can all agree that discharging untreated sewage is not good. But...what would you have had HRSD do? Maintain the generators better? I agree. Build a million gallon storage tank in every neighborhhod? get real.
Would you have preferred they allowed the backup to occur into your home?
Do you even know if you have amended your insurance to cover sewage backup? It is NOT automatic in many policies...so if sewage floods into your house from the City pipes, the cost is all out of your pocket.
In an ideal world, HRSD does a better job maintaining backups. Here, they had backup, it failed, and then the primary failed with it. This sewage will flush out within days with no major impact. It was a rare incident - get over it.
And we wonder?????
And we wonder why the Bay is like it is. A neighbor of mine got charged with a felony because a gas can fell over and leaked about 1/2 gal of gas into the storm drain. A neighbor smelled it and called. That too went into the Bay but it's a major deal for an individual and it's zero tolerance. But just a big oopsie for HRSD.
Another Government Boondogle
If I were to release some "sewage" overboard, I would be fined up to $10,000. What is the fine here. Nothing to see here, just typical government incompetence, just move on!!!!
YAY
more potato sponges!!
Elizabeth River pollution
The river is so disgusting that spill would be unnoticed.
?
The river is a beautiful place filled with birds, fish, and other wild life. Yes it has some heavy industry down in Norfolk but that doesn't make the river "disgusting' by any stretch. I bet the person that wrote this has not been on the river in years, or maybe even ever in their life.
On the River
You are incorrect in many ways. I have been on the river continually for the past 10 years as I keep a boat in a marina on the river. The river is polluted and although I contribute to the foundation to improving river quality the lack of concern by the jurisdictions along the river will continue to keep in its state of poor quality. I see the City of Portsmouth personnel mowing grass along Crawford Street blowing the clippings in the river each time they mow. When there is a concert or event at Harbor Park there is a surplus amount of plastic bottles and trash flowing thereafter. Boats sit at anchor at Hospital Point during Harborfest and dump their holding tanks in the river while there are people swimming adjacent to their waste.
...
So you purposefully keep your boat in a "disgusting" river? I think we can all agree that abuse of the river from boaters, industry and run off don't help the situation but the river does not warrant the labels you have chosen. That only adds to the abuse and perception that each individuals actions don't matter. It all matters. If you know of abuse you should do something about it. If you know yachts are pumping waste into the river, call the police... flag one down at harbor fest. If you see extra trash in the river from a waterside event, notify the city so it doesn't keep happening. This is everyones civic duty.
Anyone for a swim in the Bay
YUK
Correction to my statement.
It was the city of Portsmouth that I had my issue with, not Norfolk. Same type of operation evidently. Run to fail instead of preventative maintenance.