(Wahpeton)– Officials aren’t sure if any sewage entered West Lake Okoboji Saturday when a pipe broke at a lift station near Crescent Beach.
D-N-R officials say the leak was discovered around 8:00 a.m. and was stopped about an hour later. Wet spots were found some 100 to 120 yards between the pipe and lake. But officials say two support structures for a boardwalk between the spill and lake made it difficult to determine if any wastewater actually entered the lake.
Crews could be seen Saturday morning pumping up water from the leak and a path where the wastewater had run was treated with bleach.
Officials say the lift station where the pipe broke was one of about 10 being rennovated by the Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary Sewer District. Officials don’t know how the pipe broke. They aren’t sure how much sewage had leaked or how long the leak may have been occurring. An estimate on the volume of sewage that was leaked is expected to be released next week.
The leak occurred on the north side of Emerson Bay.
D-N-R officials say the beach and lake are unlikely to be impacted by the incident.
