CREVE COEUR, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
Thousands of gallons of sewage spilled into a Creve Coeur creek. Friday afternoon and night, clean up was underway and investigators were urging people to stay away from Ben Bush Creek. "It's very gross," said area resident Patricia Foster about the spill.MSD says at least several thousand gallons of sewage spilled into Ben Bush Creek. The creek runs near Olive and 270 and flows close to homes.
"I walk the dog and I also see kids playing down in the creek. They know they shouldn't, but they do. And I'm also wondering what people are putting down the cesspool, down the sewer that they shouldn't be putting down," said Foster.
Another concerned resident, Elizabeth O'Brien, added, "There are children, a lot of children like back in the apartments that play in this area. They're out on their bikes all the time, there are kids all over and that's a concern."
MSD spokesperson Lance LeComb says they were notified Friday morning after a Creve Coeur city worker saw sewage spilling out of two manholes near the creek off a street called East Rue de la Banque.
The cause of the problem grease that was improperly disposed of, blocking a sanitary sewer line. "Just like an artery clogs, the sewer line clogs with fats and grease," said LeComb.
Crews set up three pumps along about a mile and a half stretch of the creek. The pumps take the contaminated water from the creek and put it down a manhole. The dirty water eventually winds up at a treatment plant.
As that was happening, crews for a time pumped fresh water into the creek from a fire hydrant.
MSD is concerned about environmental and health issues.
LeComb told us, "If somebody came into the creek and somehow did something in the creek or was just even walking along it and did some sort of hand-to-mouth activity, you have some sort of illness develop, so we take this very seriously."
Foster's message to MSD: Make sure it gets completely cleaned up.
MSD suspects the grease blockage came from a business like a restaurant and could have been building up for a couple of months.
The clean up with these pumps is slated to continue for the entire weekend.
LeComb tells us MSD will take samples to make sure the water is clean.
MSD says people should stay away from Benbush Creek for at least 36 hours.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says a grease clog in a sewer line led to the release of untreated sewage that contaminated nearly two miles of a Creve Coeur creek on Thursday. DNR staff is now looking into the damage done and overseeing the cleanup of Ben Bush Creek. Sewage got into the creek after a grease clog caused an overflow from two manholes located between Rue De La Banque and Charter Oak Parkway in Creve Coeur.
The Metropolitan Sewer District notified the DNR of the release Friday morning.
The creek is gray with pockets of sludge throughout. Sewer district staff have begun cleaning out the farthest contaminated portion of the creek, located off Shadycreek Lane near Parkway North High School, with the intention of working their way back toward the source.
The sanitary sewer overflow in Creve Coeur was one of two reported Friday morning by MSD. A second, smaller, release occurred Thursday near Forest Club Drive in Clarkson Valley. In that release, approximately 300 feet of Shutwell Creek was contaminated. Cleanup of this release is expected to be finished Friday.
Sanitary sewer overflows can be caused by obstructions in sewer lines, such as in this case, mechanical failure, infiltration of rainwater and snow melt into aging systems or undersized systems that cannot compensation for sudden increases in wastewater.
Communities across Missouri produce millions of gallons of wastewater that must be properly transported and treated before being released to waterways. However, some communities are facing challenges in accomplishing this.
For more information on sanitary sewer overflows or other water quality issues, contact the Department of Natural Resources' Water Protection Program at 573-751-1300 or 800-361-4827 or visit the department Web site at www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp.
To report an environmental emergency, including sewage overflows, please contact the DNR spill line at 573-634-2436.
