WQCS00057_NOI_NOV2021DV0284_Response_20210708

NC Department of
Environmental Quality
Received
City of Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina 27360
Lon T. Snider
Regional Supervisor
DWQ, NCDEQ
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
RE: Intent to Enforce Letter Response
Incident Number 2202101103
JUL 0 9 2021
Winston-Salem
Regional Office
Utilities Department
08 July 2021
Dear Mr. Snider,
In response to the letter of Intent to Enforce of 17 June 2021 the City of Thomasville asks that
the following be taken into consideration:
Regarding incident # 202101103: As stated in other previous response letters there are known issues
with Inflow and Infiltration in the collection system leading to the Veach Farm Road area where one of
two connected main outfalls is located. The second main outfall joins with the outfall along Veach Farm
Road just east of the site of this SSO: A study was commissioned through consulting engineers Alley
Williams Carmen and King that determined that while I&I is higher than expected for the sewersheds
involved, the pump station itself appears to be undersized for the existing flow. An RFQ was issued for
holistic upgrades to the pump station, force main, and downstream systems and Alley Williams Carmen
and King has been selected to design upgrades to these systems to better meet current and future
demand.
Previous efforts to identify sources of I&1for remediation have included smoke testing of the
sewersheds and cleaning and video inspection of the main outfall and trunk lines in the sewersheds in
this part of the collection system. Duke's Root Control iTracker Microdetection system flow tracking
devices were installed in the sewersheds involved to theoretically "pinpoint" the worst sources of I&I in
the collection system for remediation the week of June 281h, 2021. It will likely take several months to
gather the necessary data and have it evaluated. Initial results may then necessitate a second round of
Tracker device placement, -data gathering, and analysis. This is the latest in the City of Thomasville's
years -long efforts to locate and localize the worst sources of I&I in these sewersheds for elimination.
There were no known impacts to public health, fish kills, or recreational area closures as a result of this
spill.
The above statements are to share with you that the City of Thomasville continues our efforts to
address the issues that led to this spill and to help prevent recurrences of same by attempting to locate
and eliminate sources of IW as well as engineer design upgrades to the collection system. The City of
Thomasville has spent and will continue to spend millions of dollars to protect the environment by
identifying and correcting deficiencies in the collection system. The City of Thomasville asks that the
ongoing efforts to upgrade this area of the sanitary sewer collection system be taken into account with
any enforcement actions considered.
Sincerely, Morgan Huffman
Public Utilities Director
City of Thomasville
CC: Michael Brandt 336-475-4220