WQCS00003_NOI_NOV2019DV0444_Response_#1_20191220

6 Winston-Salem / Forsyth County
Utilities
Water a Wastewater a Solid Waste
Administration, P.O. Box 2511, Winston-Salem, NC 27102
0: 336-727-8000, F: 336-727-8432, wsfcutilities.org
December 20, 2019
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105
Re: Sanitary Sewer Overflow Civil Penalties Incident #201901554
NC Department of
Environmental
Quality
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Received
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DEC 2 0 2019
Winston-Salem
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Regional Office ,. L
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This letter serves as the official response from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities (WSFC Utilities)
to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources Notice of
Intent to Enforce Civil Penalty for the September 18, 2019 sanitary sewer overflow (SSO), Incident
#201901554, located on an outfall near Old Greensboro Road behind Pepsi Bottling Ventures. The
incident was a direct result of pipe failure. WSFC Utilities continues to make progress in minimizing SSOs
and has the proper programs in place to continue our high level of performance.
On September 17, 2019 at approximately 3:15pm, a consultant hired by WSFC Utilities notified us that a
contractor performing scheduled cleaning had a cleaning nozzle stuck in the sewer main near Old
Greensboro Road. There was concern that it may cause a spill. The WSFC Utilities easement crew was
on -site and attempted to extract the nozzle before the main line started to spill. At this time, the nearby
manhole was holding and the crew was able to use a combination truck to prevent an overflow. They
made multiple attempts to remove the nozzle from the main line, but were unsuccessful. The decision
was made to leave the nozzle in the pipe overnight and schedule an excavation by the construction crew
the following day. When crews left for the night, wastewater was flowing through the pipe and the
system appeared to be working well.
Upon arrival the morning of September 18,- 2019, the crew noticed the creek had a strong soda -like odor
and discovered wastewater was overflowing the embankment. At approximately 8:30am, the
construction crew started excavating to remove the stuck nozzle from the upstream line. The crew was
able to remove the nozzle and the pipe started flowing freely at 7:35pm. To clean up the spill, a diffuser
was operated for several hours on September 18, 2019.
It was determined by our investigation that the sewer main required replacement. We worked with
Pepsi Bottling Ventures to schedule a shutdown allowing our construction crews to install new sewer
mains from the plant. WSFC Utilities replaced 270 feet of 8-inch sewer main over the next two weeks.
The sewer main was relocated to avoid crossing the creek and GIS maps were updated. During
construction, wastewater continued to flow without issue.
WSFC Utilities staff attributes the sanitary sewer overflow on September 18, 2019 to pipe failure.
City Council: Mayor Allen Joints; Vivian H. Burke, Mayor Pro Tampere, Northeast Ward; Denise D. Adams, North Ward; Dan Besse, Southwest Ward; Robert C. Clark,
UMMIM. MID West Ward; John C. Larson, South Ward; Jeff Macl mash, Northwest Ward; Annette Scipplo, East Ward; James Taylor, Jr., Southeast Ward; City Manager. Lee D. Garrity
County Commissioners: David R. Plyler, Chair; Don Martin, Vice Chair, Fleming El -Amin; Ted Kaplan; Richard V. Linville; Tanya McDaniel; Gloria D. Whisenhi nt; County
Call311 or336-727-8900 Manager: Dudley Watts, Jr.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County DOW Commission: Randall S. Tuttle, Chair, L. Wesley Curtis, Jr., Vice Chair; Harold E. Day; Tom Griffin; Yvonne H. Hines; Duane Long;
[e-mail] Hugh W. Jerniga p; Chris Parker; James Ruffin; Donald R. Stem rt; Allan Younger

I hope this information is helpful with your investigation of Incident #201901554. If you require
additional information, please contact me at 336-747-7315.
Sincerely,
Courtney Driver, P.E.
Utilities Director
cc:
Michael Stover, Assistant Utilities Director -Operations
Kenny Atkins, Utilities Field Operations Manager
Antonio Martinez, ORC
File