Sauk Rapids utility officials estimate 700,000 gallons of sewage made its way into the Mississippi River when a sewer pipe broke.
The pipe broke around 2 a.m. on July 5th, causing the city’s utility department to divert the sewage to the river so that repairs could be made. The pipe was repaired by Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Utility officials stated that the sewage appeared to be diluted quite well, but the city has increased the treatment levels as a precaution. The increase in treatment levels means ensuring there are no bacteria issues or an increase in organics. This ensures that residents are still within a reasonably clean environment so there is no threat to public health.
Because the incident was an accident, there will be no fines, despite how much sewage made its way into the river. It has been recognized that Sauk Rapid city officials acted in the best way possible to take care of the situation as soon as possible. The fast thinking by the officials prevented a much worse disaster from occurring that could have threatened the health of residents.
