By DAN TELVOCK
The Department of Environmental Quality is looking into a series of at least 45 raw sewage overflows over the past five months on property near Massaponax Creek in Spotsylvania County.
Although county officials have been unable to estimate with confidence how much sewage was discharged into the creek, they believe human exposure and risk is minimal.
Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Julia Wellman said county officials reported the overflows immediately. The DEQ is asking people not to swim in the creek. The county has placed warning signs near the affected area.
But Supervisor Vince Onorato is worried. He is considering asking for a moratorium on all new sewer connections until the problem is fixed. He said the county has been overdeveloped and the infrastructure needs to catch up.
"I don't know what kind of support there would be on the board, because that would be a very drastic measure, but I think these are dire circumstances," Onorato said. "We should have, as a county, seen this coming and been advised of it."
The overflow site is within a 90-acre county-owned property near the creek, west of Interstate 95, between Leavells Road and U.S. 1. County officials said it is a nonresidential area that has restricted private access and a gate. A wetland-mitigation area on the site is not impacted, said Thomas Slaydon, the county's utilities director.
Slaydon said the sewage was seeping from manholes near the creek. The risk for human exposure is minimal because of the location of the overflows and the difficult access, he said.
"For areas, for instance, beyond Route 1, the contamination has fallen off due to dilution and natural die-off of any bacteria, and the potential for human contact remains low," he wrote in an e-mail. "So, for the areas downstream, we feel like the hazards are low--not non-existent. On the side of health and safety we would urge residents to avoid contact with Massaponax Creek."
An 18-inch sewer main must be replaced with a wider one, Slaydon said. But the $50 million project isn't scheduled to be finished until some time in 2008. Slaydon said a "significant portion" of the county's sewage drains through this main.
Supervisors discussed the problem in a closed session Tuesday. Onorato said county staff advised supervisors earlier about the situation and he left with the impression it was a single event.
"To me, personally, I feel it is part of the poor planning that has gone into our area," he said. "Which [ever] department in the county is responsible for this, I think needs to be held responsible. We have allowed more [development] than our infrastructure can handle."
Supervisor Hap Connors said a moratorium may be worth entertaining, "but i think I need more information."
Board of Supervisors Chairman Chris Yakabouski lives off Creek Lane, which is near the problem site. He said he has smelled an odor occasionally but "it's not like it's overflowing in people's yards.
"We are concerned and we are doing everything we can to fix the problem. I don't want to create panic," he said.
Wellman said the DEQ is working out a resolution with county officials, that could include fines.
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438