TRAVERSE CITY -- A failed battery pack in a sewer pump station caused approximately 8,000 gallons of sewage to spill into the Mitchell Creek headwaters.
About 16,000 gallons overflowed when sewer pumps in the Grand Traverse County-run system failed to switch on in a Garfield Township industrial park southeast of the Hammond and Garfield roads intersection.
County Department of Public Works Director Chris Buday said the problem began at about 2 a.m. Monday and wasn't discovered until 8 a.m.
Buday said about half the spill was caught in an adjacent storm water retention basin and it appeared the sewage mainly discharged from a nearby industrial laundry facility.
"It's raw sewage, but it's not like you have 16,000 gallons of water coming out of a toilet," Buday said. "The impact area was pretty small and (Tuesday) you couldn't even tell where it went."
The county used a jet vacuum truck to draw in liquid and then spread lime on the ground as a disinfectant, Buday said.
County health department official Thomas Buss said nothing more needs to be done because the sewage flowed into a wetland area instead of directly into the creek.
Monday's sunshine also helped because it kills bacteria.
"It's probably the best cleanup that could possibly be done," Buss said.
The DPW replaced the battery power pack at the pump station and is monitoring the station, Buday said.
County officials will study technical issues as to why the battery pack failed and why a computer monitoring system did not send out proper alarms, Buday said.
"We are also going to review our procedures to see if we can catch these things quicker," Buday said.
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