Human waste from portable toilets pumped out of ditch behind PNC Music Pavilion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stormwater services said all the raw sewage was pumped out of the drainage ditch behind PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte.

The ditch was then flushed with clean water to get any residual out, officials said.

Thousands of gallons of human waste and blue toilet water were intentionally dumped into the ditch.

A viewer alerted Channel 9 to the issue Tuesday.

A portable toilet company was tasked with cleaning up the mess before it runs into the nearby Mallard Creek.

Despite an investigation, officials said they don't know who did it, and likely never will.

Jimmy Edwards was on trails near the creek Sunday when he discovered the “blue lagoon.”

"The smell of it caught me,” Edwards told Channel 9. “It’s nasty.”

Eyewitness News anchor Liz Foster showed the pictures to Rusty Rozzelle, program manager at Mecklenburg County's Water Quality.

She asked if there was clear evidence that portable toilets were dumped.

“Yes,” Rozzelle said.

There was no way of knowing if it happened only once, he said.

Rozzelle doesn't believe there will be an impact to the drinking water.

"We think a very small quantity made it to the creek, if any at all, because we haven't had any rain," Rozzelle said.

Chopper 9 flew over the venue Tuesday and saw a company called A-Sani-Can pumping human waste out of the drainage ditch.

"(The company is) denying they are responsible for it being there," Rozzelle said.

Foster saw other portable toilets on the property owned by the same company.

County crews are now investigating and have asked for surveillance video from outside the music venue to try to figure out who dumped the portable toilets before officials determine any fines or penalties.

"I just find it hard to believe someone would just dump sewage like that," Edwards said.

Foster contacted Live Nation, which is the company that operates PNC Music Pavilion.

“All inquiries should be directed to the county, as they are overseeing this investigation,” a spokesperson said.

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