1.4 million gallons of partially treated sewage was released into the Huron River on Tuesday. Now, safety measures are in place to prevent that from happening again.
When maintenance was being performed at the Ann Arbor Wastewater Treatment Plant, low water levels created a problem. It triggered the ultraviolet disinfection system to shut off, which led to the sewage, which was partially treated already, to flow into the Huron River.
Keith Sanders, manager of Wastewater Treatment Services, says new safety measures were added on Thursday.
“We’ve added an additional alarm to tell us if the U.V. shuts off on low level.”
The Washtenaw County Health Department has ordered the city to test the river but they are not expecting to find any significant contamination. No health advisories have been issued.
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