Sanitary sewer overflow reported in Dowagiac

Published 1:01 pm Friday, April 23, 2021

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DOWAGIAC — A sanitary sewer overflow occurred from 11 a.m. April 9 to 3 p.m. Thursday in Dowagiac.

The reported discharge was from a private residence.

A SSO discharge report from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Resources Division indicated that one gallon of raw sewage discharged on the 700 block of N. Front Street.

According to the report, the city became aware of a sinkhole forming at the residence on April 4, but an investigation yielded no results. The sinkhole returned this Wednesday, and crews initiated a separate investigation Thursday. During the investigation, crews found a private sewer lateral had been broken. Following repairs to the line, the valve to the city’s sewer main had been closed, leading to the leak. The amount of time the valve had been closed cannot be determined, therefore the time and amount of discharge cannot be properly estimated.

Only land was impacted by the discharge.