Crews clean wastewater spill in mid-Mo. creek

BOONVILLE, Mo. -- Missouri officials say an electrical failure apparently caused the release of an estimated 400,000 gallons of wastewater into a Boonville Creek.

The state Department of Natural Resources said officials in the central Missouri city discovered the spill Wednesday afternoon. The agency said it appears that an electrical system failed at a lift station, allowing the wastewater to bypass a treatment plant and flow the creek.

An investigator discovered a fish kill in the stream about 250 yards from where the stream flows into the Missouri River. The state Department of Conservation is measuring the size of the kill.

City crews are cleaning up the areas around manholes that overflowed because of the failure. Natural Resources officials also recommended that the stream be pumped to remove the wastewater.