Raw Sewage Continues to Flow into Schuylkill: Fixing a Broken Main in the City is Slowed By a Wait for Repair Parts.

By Michelle Park, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Jan. 13–Untreated sewage continued to flow into the Schuylkill River late Saturday night as city workers and contractors worked to repair a ruptured sewer main in Reading.

The city began diverting sewage into the river around noon Friday so repairs could be made to the 42-inch-diameter main.

The sewage flow through the main is estimated at 10 million gallons per day, said Charles M. Jones, Reading public works director.

To reduce the amount getting into the river, three tanker trucks were brought in early Saturday to haul sewage from the pumping station at Sixth and Canal streets to the wastewater plant on Fritz’s Island.

The trucks have been hauling continuously. The amount by which they reduce the flow into the river is not known, Jones said.

How much of a health risk might exist is not clear.

Such situations always pose a risk, said Neil R. Weaver, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman.

The DEP is assisting at the rupture site, which is near the river between the pumping station and wastewater plant.

Residents on the city’s east side are being asked to conserve water to reduce flow into the sanitary system until the break is repaired, Jones said.

Water plant employees in Pottstown, the first downstream municipality that draws from the river for its public water, increased chlorine levels as a precaution Friday but had returned them to normal by Saturday. The water plant serves about 12,000 customers.

Water bacteria levels have been normal, said Raymond W. Lopez, manager of the borough and the Pottstown Borough Authority.

The sewer main rupture was discovered Thursday afternoon.

Crews dug a large hole Saturday morning to expose the ruptured pipe. The broken part was to be cut out. The replacement will be attached with metal bands. Repair work slowed Saturday as workers awaited the delivery of the bands from Arkansas, where they were manufactured. Weaver said it has not been determined if the DEP will penalize the city. “We’re most concerned with the problem, getting it fixed, getting it back on line,” he said.

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