A power failure at the Moccasin Bend Waste Water Treatment Plant has caused untreated sewage to flow into the Tennessee River south of Chattanooga.
City officials say the failure happened around 9 a.m. today. The waste is entering the river from three locations: near the CSO Treatment Facility in the vicinity of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Riverfront Parkway; Hamm Road at Moccasin Bend Road; and from a manhole underneath the Market Street Bridge in Coolidge Park, city spokesman Richard Beeland said.
The power outage resulted in a shutdown of the plant's pumping system, he said.
"Members of the Department of Public Works, the city's electrical contractor, Triad, and personnel from EPB are working diligently to restore full power to the plant," Mr. Beeland said. "However, power has not been restored to all facilities within the plant, which includes the main pumping station. An emergency generator is onsite and is being connected to the main pumps to restore them to operating condition."