Authorities executing water quality checks after sewage spill near swash in Myrtle Beach

Local and state authorities are doing water quality checks in the Atlantic Ocean and Withers Swash after an estimated 15,000 gallons of sewage made its way into a ditch that connects to the swash on Sunday when a 24-inch sewer force main failed on Boundary Street, according to a news release by City of Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Mark Kruea.

The one-foot break in the main was reported at 8:30 a.m. and was quickly shut down, the release said. The area where the failure happened is about 200 feet west of the Fifth Avenue South pump station, according to the release.

Myrtle Beach Public Works immediately notified the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) of the spill, Kruea said. Crews used a Vactor truck to remove remaining sewage from the ditch, though some might have made its way to the swash, according to the release.

In light of incident, the City of Myrtle Beach has placed precautionary signs advising of the spill at the site and at Wither Swash, which is near Third Avenue South, Kruea said. DHEC on Sunday was taking water quality samples at the swash outlet to determine if any of the sewage got into the Atlantic, according to the release.

Coastal Carolina University staff members will take further water quality samples above and below the spill site to check examine the swash, the release states. Test results are expected to be available in 24 hours, Kruea said.