Sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) reported, Aug 4, 2026

Record details

Original source data

{
  "report": {
    "id": "324756",
    "via": "api",
    "incident": "2026-08-04T15:01:00",
    "incident_end": null,
    "received": "2026-08-05T11:56:00",
    "closed": "2026-08-11T07:20:58",
    "modified": "2026-08-11T07:20:58",
    "date_unknown": false,
    "site_name": "SSO - WestRock CP LLC - Hopewell - Process Sewer System",
    "address": "910 Industrial Street",
    "city": "Hopewell",
    "zip": "23860",
    "county_city": "Hopewell City",
    "region": "Piedmont",
    "status_text": "Closed",
    "categories": [
      "Sanitary Sewer Overflow"
    ],
    "waterbody": "Gravelly Run",
    "other_waterbody": null,
    "original_waterbody": "Gravelly Run",
    "water_threatened": "Y",
    "low": null,
    "high": null,
    "unit": null,
    "ssors": null,
    "nrc": [],
    "vdem": null,
    "epa": null,
    "facility_name": "WestRock CP LLC - Hopewell",
    "facility_permitted": "Y",
    "responsible_company": null,
    "still_occurring": "N"
  },
  "text": {
    "incident_comment": "This report being sent on 8/4/26 serves as the five-day follow-up with additional details to the initial (24-hr) notification that was made via email on 8/5/26 from Taylor Owen.   \n \nAt approximately 3:01 PM on 8/4/26, the Smurfit Westrock Hopewell Mill experienced an unauthorized discharge from our Main Sewer Lift Station to the permitted Stormwater Outfall 004 due to a heavy rain event. Between approximately 3:15 PM and 4:40 PM, the National Weather Service sent two Emergency Alerts and three Imminent Threat Alerts concerning flash flooding. The storm event contributed approximately 4” of rain in approximately 1.5 hour (total daily rainfall was 6.15”). The overflow occurred at the Mill’s Main Sewer Lift Station to HWR for 29 minutes from 3:01 PM to 3:30 PM. The lift station is where the Mill’s treated sanitary wastewater and \nindustrial process water combine prior to pumping to the wastewater treatment plant. All available lift pumps were manual turned on by our operators 45 minutes before the heaviest portion of the rain event started.  \n\nDuring the heaviest rainfall period when the level was rising, the Mill also shut down the Paper Machine process in an attempt to offset the additional flow from stormwater. The Paper Machine was down by 3:05 PM, but it was not enough to prevent the overflow.  The Mill did not observe and does not expect any adverse conditions to wildlife from this discharge.",
    "location_comment": "At approximately 3:01 PM on 8/4/26, the Smurfit Westrock Hopewell Mill experienced an unauthorized discharge from our process sewer system to the permitted Stormwater Outfall 004 due to a heavy rain event.",
    "closure_comment": null
  },
  "sewage": [
    {
      "duration_h": 0.5,
      "component": "Pump Station",
      "component_id": 11,
      "volume_gal": null,
      "volume_unknown": "Y",
      "wet_weather": "Y",
      "treated": "N",
      "precipitation_in": 6.15,
      "causes": [
        "Flooding of TWTDS"
      ],
      "impacts": [
        "Sewage on Land Surface with Potential Human Exposure"
      ],
      "corrective_action": "During the heaviest rainfall period when the level was rising, the Mill also shut down the Paper Machine process in an attempt to offset the additional flow from stormwater.",
      "steps_taken": null,
      "component_comment": null,
      "other_cause": null
    }
  ],
  "status_log": [
    {
      "at": "2026-08-06T07:52:32",
      "type": "Call Received"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-08-06T07:53:00",
      "type": "Assigned"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-08-06T07:53:00",
      "type": "Under Investigation"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-08-11T07:20:58",
      "type": "Closed Call/IR"
    }
  ],
  "created_in_prep": "2026-08-06T07:52:32",
  "event_type_basis": "DEQ category Sanitary Sewer Overflow",
  "permit": {
    "typed_permit": "VA0004642",
    "deq_vpdes_links": [
      "VA0004642"
    ],
    "ms4": null,
    "ms4_links": null,
    "basis": "DEQ's VPDES link on the report"
  },
  "discharger_match": {
    "by_permit": null,
    "by_name": null
  },
  "volume_basis": null,
  "_ended_at_basis": "incident time + duration 0.5 h (sewage report)",
  "_time_basis": "PReP API times are local wall-clock times with no zone, read as America/New_York. The export table stores local time + 5 h all year (decoded by subtracting 5 h); the EDMA point layer stores local time labelled as UTC (decoded by reading the UTC clock as local).",
  "water_placement": {
    "text": "Gravelly Run",
    "towns": [
      "Hopewell",
      "Hopewell City"
    ],
    "notes": null,
    "echo_outfall": null
  },
  "point": {
    "lat": 37.301745,
    "lon": -77.264623,
    "layer": "DEQ EDMA layer 175 (PReP Reports, Daily)",
    "reference_point": "PG",
    "note": "DEQ's geocode of the report's site address (REFERENCE_POINT 'PG'), not an outfall point",
    "edma_incident": "2026-08-04T15:01:00-04:00",
    "edma_received": "2026-08-05T11:56:00-04:00"
  },
  "attribution": "DEQ is the data source. DEQ does not certify that this data represents a complete record. This data is provided to the citizens of the Commonwealth free of charge and for informational purposes only.",
  "api_url": "https://portal.deq.virginia.gov/prep/api/prepReports/324756?expand=prepStatusCode,prepUnitTypeCode,prepReportSewages.prepComponentTypeCode,prepReportSewages.prepSewageCauses.prepCauseCode,prepReportSewages.prepSewageImpacts.prepImpactTypeCode,prepReportReleaseSubtypes.prepReleaseSubtypeCode,prepReportPermitViews,prepOriginalReport,prepReportEvents.prepEventTypeCode,prepFipsCode.fipsRegion"
}

Source: Virginia DEQ Pollution Response Program (PReP), Piedmont Regional Office via Virginia DEQ Pollution Response Program (PReP) pollution reports, sewage-related, record 324756, reported Aug 5, 2026, 11:56 AM EDT, retrieved 2026-11-03 02:40 UTC · Read the original notice

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