COUNCIL BLUFFS—The city of Council Bluffs requested permission to release untreated wastewater to the Missouri River after discovering problems with a sewer line this morning.
DNR granted approval to discharge 125,000 to 200,000 gallons of untreated wastewater to enable the city to inspect a potentially collapsed sewage pipe near 32nd Street and 12th Avenue.
Starting at 8 a.m., the city bypassed 68,510 gallons from the sanitary sewer to the storm sewer, before ending the discharge at 9:25 a.m. The storm sewer discharges to the Missouri River near Dodge Park. The city collected water samples from the discharge and from the river (upstream and downstream) for testing.
The DNR encourages residents to keep children and pets away from the Missouri River downstream of the Dodge Park stormwater pump station for the next 24 to 48 hours.