Myrtle Beach sewer pipe breaks, leaks into storm water drainage system
Myrtle Beach Public Works crews worked Thursday to repair a 16-inch a pressurized sewer pipe along 48th Avenue North near Kings Highway.
A break in the pipe allowed an undetermined amount of overflow into the adjacent stormwater system, the city announced in a press release. Mark Kruea, Myrtle Beach spokesman, told The Sun News on Saturday that the city estimates anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of untreated sewage water leaked into the stormwater system.
Kruea said the city notified the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and posted a notice of the overflow at the location. DHEC did not issue a swim advisory for the nearby beaches.
When sewage gets into a stormwater system, untreated wastewater travels through storm drains, pipes, ditches, and canals into waterways. Usually it is drained to a treatment plant so that it can be cleaned before it is discharged back into the environment.
Around noon on Thursday, when excavating the pipe, public works staff determined that a crack developed at the top of the pipe, adjacent to a May 2017 repair, Kruea’s email said. That earlier repair was required after a piece of construction equipment struck the pipe, damaging it.
The city used a vacuum truck and a private service to redirect flows during the repair. The work was expected to be completed Thursday, according to the email.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
