Gray muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a dam breach at a Wilmington power plant where an old coal ash dump had been covered over by Florence’s floodwaters.
Forecasters predicted the water will continue to rise through the weekend at the LV Sutton Power Station. Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the utility doesn’t believe the breach poses a significant threat of increased flooding to nearby communities.
Sheehan said the company can’t rule out that ash might be escaping the flooded dump and flowing through the lake into the river.
Inspectors with the state Department of Environmental Quality travelled to the plant by boat on Sunday to collect water quality samples. Environmental Secretary Mike Regan said aerial video of the site show “potential coal ash” flowing into the river.
“When the environment is conducive, we will put people on the ground to verify the amount of potential coal ash that could have left andentered those flood waters,” Regan said.