Sewer leak smaller than estimated

According to an engineering firm's report, the total amount of raw sewage that leaked from Reedley's Waste Water Treatment Plant in California on July 30 and 31 was significantly less than city officials originally estimated had leaked from the plant, the Reedley Exponent reported.

The city hired Carollo Engineering, an independent firm that conducted an analysis of the sewer leak. It put initial estimates between 20,000 and 60,000 gallons of raw sewage that leaked into the King River for more than 10 hours. After using a more efficient model calibrated to scale, the amount of sewage that leaked was around 6,600 gallons over less than hour.

“The spill occurred between 6 a.m. and 6:52 a.m. on July 31, a period of 52 minutes during which approximately 6,600 gallons of wastewater was spilled to the Kings River over a period in which the IPS was shut down for over 10 hours,” the report stated.

Russ Robertson, director of Reedley Public Works, added that there was no impact to the river whatsoever and that the company is very pleased with the latest test results.

A more recent sewer leak has spilled onto a road in Hollywood, Florida, on August 30, forcing a portion of the road to be shut down while repairs and cleanup were conducted. City officials said the leak will not affect sewer or water systems for residents, ABC affiliate WPLG reported.