November 01, 2017 - 6:42 AM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Officials in central New York say an aging sewer pipe that's slated to be replaced has failed yet again, causing 4.5 million gallons (17 million litres) of raw sewage to flow into a lake.
The Syracuse Post-Standard reports Onondaga County officials say the pipe that runs along freight train tracks over a creek inlet into Onondaga Lake broke Monday morning after more than 3 inches of rain fell in two days.
County authorities said Tuesday afternoon that sewage spilled at a rate of 9,000 gallons (34,000 litres) per minute for more than eight hours.
The same pipe has failed several times over the past five years, including in October 2016, when heavy rains caused 13 million gallons (49 million litres) of raw sewage to spill into the lake.
The county is looking at spending $18 million to replace the 50-year-old pipe and related infrastructure.
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This story has been corrected to show rate of the spill was 34,000 litres per minute.
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Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017