SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Officials in Pennsylvania are advising residents to avoid certain bodies of water after a sewage line rupture on Monday.
According to the Millersburg Upper Paxton Emergency Management Agency, a large 20-inch sewage line rupture near the East Snyder County Sewage Treatment Facility on the south end of Selinsgrove, 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 agency goes on to say that the rupture was found early on Sunday, and as of 3 p.m., authorities are still unsure when the pipe, which reportedly moves an average of two million gallons of sewage daily from several communities, will be repaired.
Until the pipe is repaired and the sewage impacts are better evaluated, officials recommend that residents stay off Penns Creek and the river below Selinsgrove.
"There are plenty of places to fish and recreationally enjoy the river above this site," the agency said in a statement.
"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 [what the] potential impacts will be"