CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city of Charlotte is still trying to recover from one of the worst catastrophes in the city's history.
Someone illegally dumped a dangerous chemical that reached plants that treat the water hundreds of thousands of people use.
While police continue to look for a suspect, it's costing Charlotte millions of dollars to clear it out.
The cancer-causing chemical, polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB, was illegally dumped in a grease trap behind a Food Lion on West Sugar Creek Road flowing to the creek in to Mallard Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Traces of it also reached McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pineville.
Cam Coley with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department said the dumping sent the operation into a tailspin.
"This was a significant emergency. It's a very rare and unusual thing to experience," said Coley.
CMUD officials said workers trapped the chemical in both locations before it affected drinking water, but it still contaminated at least 46,000 tons of waste.
Because the chemical levels are too high for local landfills, roughly 6,000 tons of that waste has to be transported to Alabama to be burned.
It could take more than a year to clear the mess from the two local plants.
Eyewitness News was allowed inside the Mallard Creek plant which was hit the hardest.
Workers are closely monitoring the cleanup for safety. Everything must be protected from the contaminated waste to prevent soil contamination.
CMUD has taken an all-hands-on-deck approach.
"This has taken people away from their regular jobs to focus on this emergency," said spokesperson Cam Coley.
So far, the cleanup has cost about $3.5 million, but a memo from CMUD to Charlotte City Council Channel 9 obtained said that number could rise to more than $12 million.
Right now, department savings and reserves are paying for that, but soon the bill could go to customers.
"This is going to be a cost," said Coley. "This is part of your water bill."
CMUD does not know what the impact will be on customers.
Despite nearly 550 man hours and more than 20 leads, police still have not found the person responsible.
"Do you think that we will ever the person who did this?" asked reporter Jenna Deery.
"That's up to the public. We have followed every lead, but we need someone with firsthand knowledge," said Maj. Johnny Jennings with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Special Operations Division.
CMUD officials are now educating businesses about protecting vulnerable places where chemicals can be dumped with security cameras and locks.
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