Residents in Burlington, Vt., urged to conserve water after sewer pipe ruptures

VERMONT (UI) — As crews get ready to mend a damaged pipe in the Winooski River, the city of Burlington is advising homeowners in a significant portion of the New North End to decrease the amount of water and garbage they discharge into the sewage system, as reported by Seven Days.

Since early Wednesday, untreated sewage has been seeping into the river close to where it meets Lake Champlain because a pipe carrying wastewater to the North Plant ruptured. The Winooski's water levels are still high, therefore the city has been unable to do repairs.

Due to limited capacity, the city is requesting that residents of hundreds of homes north of Institute Avenue — and primarily east of North Avenue — limit the number of times they flush the toilet, take shorter showers and baths, run the dishwasher less frequently, and turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth, according to Seven Days.

The Department of Public Works intends to pump the sewage into trucks for the time being, which will transport it to the facility for treatment. That may start with a vehicle that has a 4,000-gallon capacity on Thursday night. On Friday, a second truck could join the operation.

The city anticipates continuing the conservation efforts for up to two weeks. While the defect is being fixed, workers are building a bypass line that will flow sewage to the North Plant.

According to Public Works director Chapin Spencer, the plant normally processes 800,000 gallons of wastewater every day. Up until the bypass line can be completed, around 250,000 gallons of untreated sewage will daily run into the Winooski River even with the pumper trucks in service, Spencer said in an email according to Seven Days.

The city issued a warning against swimming in places within a mile of the break due to the sewage leak, including the North Shore Access Area. Colchester has also put up notices at some of its lakefront access spots.

Although state officials have advised against swimming in numerous Vermont rivers, some Burlington beaches remain available. For instance, the Department of Environmental Conservation stated on Thursday that "recreation, wading, boating, swimming, or fishing should be avoided for several days until flows return to normal levels."

Boil water advisories are in effect for many additional communities. Due to a delay in receiving municipal water test results, Richmond on Thursday advised its citizens to boil water for at least another 10 days.

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