Broken sewer line at Jackson subdivision repaired

A broken sewer line released untreated wastewater into a section of Ramsey Branch in Jackson on Thursday morning but caused no threat to drinking water, city leaders said.

The leak occurred near the intersection of Clear Creek Drive and Greenwood Circle in Klaus Park subdivision. According to a news release from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, a resident of the subdivision reported that a sewer main had ruptured and an undetermined amount of sewage poured into a wet-weather tributary of Ramsey Branch.

The department then contacted public works officials around 11 a.m. Thursday who confirmed after their own investigation that a six-inch main serving the subdivision had ruptured.

City engineer Kent Peetz said the leak was evident in a ditch that leads to Ramsey Branch. Monroe Plumbing and Heating of Cape Girardeau worked Friday morning to assist city crews in locating and repairing the leak.

By noon the main was repaired.

"There was never any danger to drinking water," Peetz said. "The wastewater line ran on a different line than the drinking water."

A staff member from the Department of Natural Resources Southeast Regional Office in Poplar Bluff, Mo., investigated the situation Thursday, including sampling Ramsey Branch for evidence of environmental impact. Spokesman Larry Archer said it could take two to three weeks before it receives lab results. A report will then be compiled and given to the city on what it could do to avoid the situation from happening again.

"It's a lot more common than we like," Archer said. "It's the result that more and more communities have wastewater facilities that are getting older plus the cold weather can cause wear and tear on underground sewer lines."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent address:

101 Court St., Jackson, MO