Sewage accidentally released into Lincoln Creek, nearly 10K gallons
Sewage released into Lincoln Creek (Courtesy: MMSD)
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District on Friday said a contractor accidentally released nearly 10,000 gallons of sewage into Lincoln Creek earlier this week.
What they're saying:
It happened on Tuesday, March 11. According to MMSD, workers with Veolia Water Milwaukee dumped sanitary sewage from a vacuum truck into a storm sewer, mistaking it for a sanitary sewer.
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As a result, the sewage entered Lincoln Creek near 32nd and Hampton. MMSD reported the incident to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
On Wednesday, MMSD said Veolia crews plugged and cleaned the impacted storm sewer before reopening it for normal operation. Veolia also implemented a mandatory supervisor approval process and scheduled refresher training for its field crews, which will start next week.
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MMSD is a regional government agency that handles water reclamation, tasked with capturing and cleaning wastewater, for 29 communities in the Greater Milwaukee area that cover 423 square miles.
What's next:
MMSD said it will continue working with Veolia to determine why the mistake happened.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.