Boaters urged to avoid Susquehanna below Selinsgrove
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A large 20-inch sewage line rupture near the East Snyder County Sewage Treatment Facility on the south end of Selinsgrove in Snyder County, is spilling raw sewage into the Penns Creek, lower Middle Creek and then flowing into the Susquehanna River just above the Hoover Island boat launch area.
The rupture was found early Sunday and as of 3 p.m., authorities are still unsure when the pipe -- which moves an average of two million gallons of sewage a day from communities including Selinsgrove, Shamokin Dam and Penn Township -- will be repaired.
"All residents of Shamokin Dam Borough, Monroe Township, Penn Township, and Selinsgrove Borough are requested to limit use until repairs can be made. There is no estimated time of repair at this time," according to a press release from the Snyder County Emergency Management Authority. "Ways to limit use would be to not run the dishwasher until it is full, only do laundry if you have to, limit time in shower, etc. This does not mean that you can't use the toilet."
An emergency response team from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and officials from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have been on the scene since late morning and excavators have been delivered to the site of the break, which is located across Market Street from the Selinsgrove Speedway.
"I have been on site in numerous locations at the site and downstream and talking to my contacts at the DEP, Fish and Boat and other groups responding to this," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "Until things are fixed and the sewage impacts better evaluated, it is highly recommended everyone uses common sense and stays off Penns Creek and the river below Selinsgrove. There are plenty of places to fish and recreationally enjoy the river above this site.
"According to one of my contacts at the DEP, there are no public intakes for drinking water off the river until the Dauphin area, but we are still looking at a large amount of sewage potentially entering the waterway until that pipe is fixed and the area cleaned up."
At the Hoover Island boat launch, no boat trailers were seen at 3 p.m., but bubbling consistent with potential sewage pollution could be seen collecting along vegetation on the edge of the shore, according to Zaktansky.
"Those bubbles and foaming in general can come from numerous non-sewage sources, and last night's heavy storms make it much harder to evaluate the impact of this event due to the higher water level, sediment and lack of clarity already in the water flowing downstream," he said. "For now, be smart and avoid contact with the water until we can get some sampling done and a better idea of what the bacterial concentrations are at various parts of the river and potential impacts will be."