Broken line led to 8,400 gallons of raw sewage flowing through Ann Arbor storm drain
A broken utility main that happened last week in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was a leak from a sanitary sewer line – not a water line as first thought.
The circumstances were discovered Wednesday afternoon when liquid was seen seeping through a water utility cover at the intersection of South Main and West Madison streets. "Staff initially believed the water was coming from a water main break," the city's press release issued Monday said.
But during the subsequent investigation, the Ann Arbor public works staff realized a collapsed sanitary sewer pipe caused a sanitary sewer overflow.
Nearly 8,400 gallons of raw sewage seeped through the road surface and flowed into the storm drain, which flows into Allen Creek, which then flows to the Huron River.
After the circumstances were understood, city officials notified the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) of the sewage leak.