Brian Griffith, H2GO’s wastewater plant superintendent, said in 2019 the Belville plant was operating at full capacity. (Port City Daily photo/Johanna F. Still)
BRUNSWICK COUNTY — Two public wastewater treatment plants serving northeastern Brunswick County are so maxed out of treatment capacity, utilities turned to a pump-and-haul arrangement to divert excess flow to a southwestern plant with room to handle it. The operation created chaos for school pick-ups and drop-offs at Town Creek Middle and Elementary Schools.
In recent months, tanker trucks made 40 to 50 daily trips to a pump station located at Town Creek Park. Eighteen-wheelers hauling thousands of gallons of sewage would back into one section of a four-point roundabout — the only way to access the schools — to unload, blocking parents attempting to pick up or drop off students.