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Over 9 million gallons of partially treated wastewater released during 10-day breakdown
WARSAW — The Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant is back online after a major failure that resulted in millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater flowing into Stewarts Creek from Aug. 22 through Aug. 28 This incident is part of an ongoing series of environmental and regulatory challenges linked to chronic industrial overloading.
“During the period of repairs from Aug. 18-28, the treatment plant upset led to approximately 9.6 million gallons of partially treated waste reaching Stewarts Creek,” a spokesperson with the North Carolina Division of Water Resources (DWR) told Duplin Journal.
The DWR reports that the facility is once again treating wastewater, but efforts are still underway to bring the plant into full compliance with its discharge permit limits. This discharge incident highlights a long-standing issue with regulatory noncompliance, primarily due to industrial overloading from two major users: Villari Foods Group and C2NC.
Even before the recent failure, the plant had been facing operational challenges, including excessive levels of ammonia, nitrogen, and Biochemical Oxygen Demand, which often far exceeded the limits set under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
According to DWR, staff managing the wastewater treatment plant, and the town of Warsaw have confirmed that the treatment plan was back online as of Friday, Aug. 29.
“DWR has assessed civil penalties to the town in response to violations of the treatment plant’s permit conditions, including violations of permit limits for parameters including fecal coliform, ammonia and total suspended solids in its treated wastewater effluent. The total paid in 2025 is $144,234.57,” DWR told Duplin Journal.
