September 18, 2019 3:00 p.m.
Over 200,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the North Umpqua River Wednesday morning.
Jim Baird, General Manager of the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority said the contractor working with Douglas County on the Highway 99 project encountered the failure of a fitting on the existing sanitary sewer pump line at the Winchester Pump Station. That failure caused the release of sewage into the river starting at about 9:00 a.m.
Baird said RUSA has posted a warning to the public regarding the potential hazards of coming into contact with the water on the North Umpqua, downstream of the dam. Baird said the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Umpqua Water Basin were also notified of the spill.
Crews stopped the problem at 11:40 a.m. after approximately 222,240 gallons had been released. Baird said higher levels of bacteria that are typically associated with sewage spills should diminish in the next few days. RUSA will continue to monitor water quality in the river downstream of the Winchester Dam, according to Baird.