GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Belmont residents are upset because of a strong smell of sewage near their homes.
They claim raw sewage from a manhole near Catawba Street is spilling into Lake Wylie and they are having trouble getting it fixed.
Channel 9 crews went out to the area earlier on Saturday and saw bottles and toilet paper, among other items of debris, coming out of a nearby manhole flowing into the lake.
“When the manhole overflows, that's where all the sewage comes in down the hill and our grass in our driveway,” a resident said. “I mean, it is dangerous. It's just not healthy at all.”
Neighbors are frustrated, claiming they have reached out to the city and the county over the phone multiple times.
"They said they did have somebody looking at it and they were looking at the sewer pipe behind us, but for some reason the smell is still strong," a resident said.
Channel 9 reached out to the county and state asking about any reports regarding the sewage and how it’s being handled.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality confirmed that a report has been filed, but could not go into any details. A spokesperson with the department said they are investigating and working to get Channel 9 any additional information.
The riverkeeper said he has not heard anything about it, but thinks there needs to be a better notification system for the public.
There has been some progress since Channel 9 has been looking into the issues. The manhole has been covered and a white substance has been sprayed over the sewage, but the smell lingers.
"We're having to smell it and there's no telling what it's getting into and it is seeping into the lake,” a resident said.