Hopewell sewage spill contained, river still not safe for swimmers

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said Gravely Run Creek and parts of the James River are still not safe to swim in, after a failure at a Hopewell water treatment plant discharged about a million gallons of untreated sewage into the waterways.

The city of Hopewell said the faulty wiring at Hopewell Water Renewal that caused the outage is now repaired, and the situation is contained -- but VDH said it will likely be several more days until it lifts the swimming advisory that went into effect Saturday, July 12.

Just before midnight on Friday, July 11th, an electrical failure Hopewell officials said was caused by faulty wiring made equipment inoperable. That led to overflow conditions, which discharged roughly a million gallons of untreated sewage.

On Saturday morning, the VDH's Crater Health District issued a recreational swimming advisory for the Gravely Run Creek and sections of the James River from the Old City Point Waterfront Park in Hopewell extending downstream to the Berkley..

"The concern is skin contact and ingestion," Danielle Schools said. Schools is the director of the division of shellfish safety and waterborne hazards under the Office of Environmental Health Services with the VDH.

"Specifically we get very concerned about folks who are immune compromised, as well as younger children who have a lot of hand to mouth activity," and might ingest water, Schools said.

Hopewell officials said the sewage discharge had no impact on residential sewer service and drinking water remained safe. They said as of Saturday, Hopewell Water Renewal, in coordination with a third-party contractor, has restored full operational capacity at the facility.

The swimming advisory is still in effect as of the time of reporting.

"As long as the plant stays online and is functioning properly, we're looking to lift the advisory Friday afternoon," Schools said. "That will allow time for the influx of water from the various weather events we've had over the last couple days and will continue to have this week to dilute the sewage that was introduced into the water."

Even when the advisory is lifted, the river will not be completely safe for swimmers.

"We typically, outside of an event such as a sewage spill, recommend that folks avoid natural bodies of water three days after a heavy rainfall," Schools said. "Because of the risk of contamination. It's just not a controlled environment."

The city said a permanent repair to the faulty wiring is scheduled for completion by Friday, July 18.