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Moyock neighbors worry there's no end in sight to smelly sewage situation

Amber DeVries and her family live in the Eagle Creek community. They haven’t been able to flush a toilet or shower for almost two days.

MOYOCK, N.C. — Some families living in a Moyock neighborhood tell us they feel powerless after dealing with sewage problems for months now. 

We learned changes could be on the way for the company in charge.  

Amber DeVries and her family have lived in the Eagle Creek community for a few years. For almost two days, they haven’t been able to flush a toilet or turn the shower on, in fear of what might come next.

"If we use anything else, I have a feeling the next thing I will be doing is cleaning brown water off of my bathroom floor,” DeVries said.

DeVries said any water the family uses right now flows into the yard.

“It’s probably a very interesting combination of some rainwater and things that come out of the toilet,” DeVries said, looking at a stream of water on the lawn. 

Things got so bad back in October, they stayed at a hotel for a few days. But DeVries said that’s not so easy for her mom, who can’t easily get around.  

“When you are wheelchair-bound and you have one toilet on one floor, your options are really limited,” DeVries said. 

She’s one of many Eagle Creek neighbors with ongoing drainage problems and sewage backups. Those neighbors reached out to 13News Now about what was going on in October.

HOA President Fred Whiteman said problems have been persistent. He said about 18 homeowners called him over the weekend with new issues.  

“So many people want to sell their homes,” Whiteman said. 

A homeowner who did not want to be on camera says a puddle is growing around his pit sewage system. DeVries knows just the one. 

“It’s just raw sewage sitting out there,” she said. 

So, what’s been done? The system is maintained by Envirolink, but it’s owned by Sandler Utilities, LLC.  

In December the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality slapped Sandler with a more than $62,000 fine for failure to operate the Eagle Creek sewer system. 

DEQ’s spokesperson, Anna Gurney, said Sandler asked them to reduce the fine, with their reason being that they have met certain qualifying criteria for maintaining the vacuum pit system. 

Gurney said DEQ is reviewing that request. She also said the Department of Water Resources has requested an engineering evaluation be provided via previously issued notices. An engineering evaluation of the system has not been provided to date.

Gurney also said on Friday it was reported to DWR that Eagle Creek is experiencing sewer system issues involving low vacuum levels within the system. Sandler also reported to DWR that they are working on the situation and that they have received reports from Eagle Creek residents of disruptions with sewer service. 

Sandler Utilities did not respond to calls and emails for comment Monday. 

“They had a lot of rain on Thursday and it continued to rain,” said Envirolink President Mike Myers. 

Myers said his team is fixing issues from the snow and rainy weekend weather that caused the pit systems to malfunction. He said they are working alongside Currituck Water and Sewer to acquire the system from Sandler.  

“Have plans to upgrade the system in the future and one of the options that we are evaluating is converting it to a different technology,” Myers said. 

DeVries feels like she’s been living in a nightmare since October. 

“We haven’t stopped having issues since then,” DeVries said. “It’s literally one thing after another.”  

She hopes change is on the way. Myers said they are working on the application process.

    

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