Officials with the city of Emporia and construction partners hope to have a sanitary sewer line stabilized by early evening after the pipe recently failed and the nearby streambank caved in.
The failure of the 36-inch sanitary sewer line and the streambank near the South Arundel cul-de-sac was discovered late Wednesday, according to staff on site with BG Consultants. The initial investigation shows the pipe failed on the north side of a Cottonwood River tributary, and there is currently no indication on when it failed. The north streambank washed away several feet from the anchor point, causing the line to break completely and raw sewage to apparently flow into the creek.
The failure prompted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to issue a stream advisory for the Cottonwood River and connecting tributaries until further notice. The main concerns are elevated bacteria levels and other contaminants in the river. Residents and pets should not enter the stream until the advisory is cleared.
Contractors need to clear trees in the area between the street and the streambank before clearing tree debris from the creek itself. Once that is done, the goal is to stabilize the bank on a temporary basis before “sculpting and armoring” the bank with riprap at a later time.
Assistant City Manager Lane Massey says the city plans to re-route or bypass that pipe by sending the sewage to nearby pipes, but it may take a day or two to finish that process. It might also take a week or longer for a more permanent fix.
KDHE says repairs will have to be completed and water samples will need to show no health risk for the advisory to be rescinded.
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Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
{gallery}Stream Advisory CS 062019{/gallery}
