Published Wednesday November 8, 2000

Pumping Station Problem Sends Sewage Into River

BY RICK RUGGLES WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Five million gallons a day of untreated sewage will flow into the Missouri River until a problem with a City of Omaha wastewater pumping station is corrected, a city official said Wednesday.

Norm Jackman, a city engineer, said a mechanical failure resulted in the flooding of the electrical pumps near First and Leavenworth Streets. The pumping station is the second largest in the city, Jackman said. "It's a problem that we need to get corrected as soon as we can," he said. "We don't anticipate that it's going to be a health problem at all."

Jackman said people aren't using the river for recreation now. He also said it won't cause a problem downstream because the sewage will be sufficiently diluted as it moves along the river.

Nevertheless, he said, the city has notified Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri authorities of the problem. The problem, which was detected Tuesday morning, could persist for a week, he said.

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-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), November 08, 2000