Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Town hired company to pump out sludge

TRYON—After a few discharges from Braewick Drive following recent rains, Tryon Town Manager Zach Ollis said he thinks the town has solved the problem. 

Last month, the Tryon Board of Commissioners approved spending $23,500 to dredge the pond at the water plant. The town also at the same time spent $16,000 on new pumps below the wastewater treatment plant. 

The company the town hired brought in four 30-yard dewatering bags to place around the pond and dewater approximately 120 cubic yards of sludge into bags, which will then be left on the banks to dry. 

Ollis said the town hired a company to come in and pump off some of the sludge and already has four dewatering bags full. He said by taking out the sludge, the town has hopefully fixed the situation with the valve underneath. 

“I really think what we’ve done in the past couple of weeks is going to help us,” Ollis said this week. “We have a couple of different things we are working on.” 

The Braewick Drive situation is also the town’s top priority on a 15-year capital improvement plan officials are currently working on. 

The town has to report any discharges from wastewater to the state and is normally fined at least $1,500 for each discharge. Braewick Drive has had a few discharges over the last few months during heavy rains.