- Local officials confirm some sewage leaks in and around Jackson due to unusually heavy rains.
- No contamination risk warnings for area lakes from authorities.
- Video shows yard in Summit Township where sewage seeped into floodwaters and nearby creek, which flows into the Grand River, also other areas where sewage spills occurred.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Last week's heavy rainfall brought with it flooding and related problems, including, according to local officials, sewage leaking into local waterways.
When Valerie Bradley saw black sludge emerging from a manhole cover in their flooded yard, she and her husband, Tom, knew the situation was worse than just a flood.
"The main sewer trunk line for Jackson County comes through our property from across the street on Badgley and flows through here — the main sewer trunk lines," says Bradley. "So, there's a manhole cover here and another manhole cover in the back corner of our property."
On Wednesday of last week, manholes erupted.
"Summit Township came out and took a look at it, because this was raised up, and it was bubbling sewage."
And the sewage — still spreading its odor this week — didn't just stay in their yard.
"That creek goes directly into the Grand River. So, unfortunately, the sewer was flowing down the stream."
Summit Township Supervisor Todd Emmons says "our lift stations had both pumps running simultaneously, and there were still areas we couldn't keep up on it."
A system overwhelmed by the deluge, Emmons acknowledges a sewage spill seems to have occurred.
"From what I talked to our Superintendent of the DPW, it wasn't a substantial amount," he notes.
City of Jackson also confirming a sewage spill into the Grand River last Wednesday from its Water Treatment Facility. City officials say rainwater overwhelmed the system. A sewer also overflowed at the intersection of Adrian and Merriman, which, the City says, has been cleaned up.
Both Jackson and Summit say they reported the spills to Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE, which monitors water quality.
MORE ON WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN AND AROUND JACKSON FOLLOWING LAST WEEK'S RAINS HERE.
Fortunately for swimmers, both events are downstream from Vandercook and Browns Lakes, and there were no contamination advisories on EGLE's Beach Guard system for any lakes in Jackson County.
Lake and river waters are still high, and will likely remain so as a result of additional rain this week.
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