Mt. Olive Pickle Company reported a sludge spill of its wastewater treatment system to state officials Monday, January 24.

The spill occurred between 7:30 and 8:00 Monday morning during repairs to a frozen water pipe. A bypass valve was mistakenly opened, releasing an estimated 6,100 gallons of sludge into Barlow Branch, a tributary of the Northeast Cape Fear River. Company officials caught the error within 30 minutes and notified the North Carolina Division of Water Quality’s Regional Office in Washington.

A state inspector visited Mt. Olive Monday morning, and the company is working to clean up the damage as well as identify preventative measures.