Springtime sewage spill in Wilmington only recently uncovered

Back in May, a power loss and backup failure sent 13.5 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Delaware River near Wilmington’s regional wastewater plant.

Detail have come out only recently, following a state notice of environmental law violations.

 

The state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control says the sewage missed only one thing before the spill: a bleach solution treatment. But as the Wilmington News Journal reports, no explanation has sufaced yet for why the incident did not appear on the DNREC’s notification system — a protocol established after a series of pollution releases.

The amount spilled into the river May 20 was about 10 percent of the city’s regular daily discharge limit.