Following reports of the recent untreated wastewater discharges into the French Broad River caused by the flooding in Western North Carolina on Jan. 9, the Times-News reached out to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and found out there were more reports of discharges in the area.
One of the largest in WNC was 76,350 gallons at 273 Gallimore Road in Brevard, discharged into the French Broad River. The second-largest was 54,000 gallons at 100 Sierra Nevada Way at Sierra Nevada Brewing in Fletcher, which also went into the French Broad, according to the NCDEQ’s wastewater discharge dashboard.
For the Sierra Nevada discharge, the NCDEQ reported the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County investigated the incident and found the manhole leaking from around the top of the lid. After the flow subsided around 1 a.m. Jan. 10, fecal samples were taken upstream and downstream of the spill site.
“The area was remediated with lime and straw once the river had crested on Jan. 11,” the NCDEQ report said.
There were two more discharges in Transylvania County that discharged into the French Broad River: 287 College Plaza in Brevard (16,100 gallons) and 31 Burnette Drive in Brevard (10,650 gallons). Other WNC discharges previously reported by the Times-News were in Tryon (more than 35,000 gallons) and Hendersonville (more than 16,000 gallons).
More: More than 16K gallons of untreated wastewater discharged in Hendersonville; more than 35K in Tryon
NCDEQ public information officer for the Division of Water Services, Laura Oleniacz, told the Times-News on Jan. 12 residents didn’t need to be concerned.
“Sewer system overflows, called SSOs, are not unusual following a large rain event,” she said. “The NCDEQ Division of Water Resources staff will review the 24-hour and the five-day reports. They may request additional information, as needed, and will determine the next regulatory response, as appropriate.”
The Division of Water Resources requires sewer system operators to submit two reports: One within 24 hours and one within five days of any sewage spill that reaches surface water, or one that’s more than 1,000 gallons.
Oleniacz said discharges are typically caused by pumps and sewer lines being overwhelmed by the volume of rainwater entering sewers through inflow and infiltration. On Jan. 9, many parts of WNC received 4-6 inches of rain over a 12-hour period.
“Rainwater is not supposed to enter sanitary sewers, but it does through cracks and holes in the sewer collection. This is called infiltration,” Oleniacz said. “During flooding, water levels may submerge manholes and enter the sewer lines that way — this is called inflow.”
More rain of up to one-half to three-quarters of an inch was expected for WNC on Jan. 12, with precipitation to begin after 1 p.m. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Buncombe and Henderson counties that was set to expire at 7 p.m. Jan. 13.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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