Raleigh Water Crews Work Double-time on Construction Wastewater Spill

Raleigh Water crews continue cleanup efforts along Turkey Creek following the disposal into a storm drain of a wastewater discharge at the construction site for expansion at the Raleigh Durham Airport (RDU).

The initial spill happened on Tuesday morning. On-site containment ponds were used to prevent wastewater from reaching surface waters at the RDU site. Raleigh Water worked with the contractor to remove the wastewater from the containment ponds to a nearby sanitary sewer drain. However, the contractor mistakenly emptied the wastewater into a storm drain. From there, it flowed into Turkey Creek.

Crews quickly mobilized to restore the creek, using dams to separate affected sections and allow clean water to be added to the creek. The collected water is then pumped out to be treated at our Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility.

Raleigh Water staff have worked extended hours and there are plans for staff to work this weekend to continue this restoration effort.

How It Started

The RDU runway expansion project requires moving sewer utility lines. The contractor set up what's called a bypass pumping operation that keeps the sewer line flowing while the new one was installed. That bypass pumping operation failed, and the wastewater spilled into the construction site.

In the evening on May 12, 2026, Raleigh Water was notified that a contractor hauler was dumping into a storm drain instead of our sanitary sewer. This caused wastewater to flow from the storm drainage system into Turkey Creek instead of our Resource Recovery Facility. The storm drain manhole was approximately 30 to 50 feet from the marked sanitary sewer manhole. Stormwater staff joined the cleanup effort on Wednesday, May 13.

How It's Going

Given the volume of wastewater involved, Raleigh Water provided expert staff from Sewer Maintenance and Resource Recovery to prevent a discharge to surface waters.

Since then, both divisions have continued to assist with transporting the contained wastewater to the sanitary sewer system that flows to our Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility.

Today, May 15th, RDU contractors increased their resources to remove the wastewater from containment areas. Raleigh Water continues to coordinate closely with the contractor and provide support as needed. The cleanup could be completed as early as the beginning of next week, depending on conditions on site.