MSD has stopped the sewage overflow at the construction site on Harrods Creek in Prospect, allowing work for the sewer line repair to proceed. Installation of sheet piling—which forms a protective box for the workers—has begun and will continue through early next week. Once the protective box is constructed, workers can remove the soil inside the box and repair the break.
MSD is dewatering the construction site by using tanker trucks and a temporary treatment containment unit at an MSD pumping station located in the Ken Carla Subdivision. This is essential to reduce flow from the pipe, allowing the repair to go forward. Drivers should use caution in the area of U.S. 42 and Ken Carla Drive due to the traffic from these tanker trucks.
Due to the gravity of the situation, we are working 24/7 to complete this repair as soon as possible.
Background
A break in a 30-inch force main in the Prospect area was initially confirmed on Monday, November 25. Contractors unearthed sections of the pipe that are 10-feet below the surface and determined the break was in a significantly deeper part of the pipe.
The break is in a section of the 30-inch force main that runs near and 35-feet under Harrods Creek behind Harrods Run Road and Timber Creek Court.
Since the break in the pipe has caused sewage to spill into Harrods Creek, the public should avoid contact with the creek from the Harrods Run Road area to the Ohio River. MSD customers will not see any problems with their sewer service.
Force mains are pipelines that move wastewater under pressure from the discharge side of a pump or pneumatic ejector to a water quality treatment center.
