Wastewater treatment plant overflows, avoid the river downstream for now
River Raisin upstream from the wastewater treatment plant. Photo credit: Sara Swanson.
by Sara Swanson
A power outage at the City of Manchester wastewater treatment plant located at 221 Hibbard Street, from the severe storm that hit the area Friday evening caused the 10,000 gallons of untreated wastewater to overflow into the River Raisin over a 2 hour period. The City reports that although the wastewater treatment plant is equipped with an emergency generator, a problem with the automatic transfer system prevented the generator from supplying power to the plant. An electrician was able to manually transfer the facility to generator power stopping the overflow.
The City has alerted appropriate regulatory agencies including the Washtenaw County Health Department. Kristen Schweighoefer, Environmental Health Director at the health department explained that part of the response process is for the municipality to gather water samples from upstream and downstream of the area where the overflow occurred which will give the health department data to determine the condition of the water and what impact the contamination had on the water quality.
She stated, “In general, people should avoid the river at the site of the overflow and downstream until sample results are returned and the impacts of the overflow return to background levels,”
Even without a wastewater treatment plant overflowing, increased contamination from run-off is a reason to be extra cautious with river water after heavy rain. Schweighoefer stated, “I’ll also say that it is a best practice to avoid full body contact with rivers in the 24-48 hours after a heavy rain, like we experienced yesterday morning, because it can increase the bacteria levels in the water.”
The City is evaluating the cause of the transfer system failure to help prevent similar incidents in the future and reiterated that they are committed to maintaining the integrity of its wastewater system and protecting the environment.
Questions? Contact the City of Manchester at (734) 428-7877 during normal business hours.
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