Westport Beaches Closed Again Due To Sewage Spill: Update

WESTPORT, CT — Beaches in Westport were closed again for swimming on Monday as the town continues to deal with the fallout from a sewage leak that spilled into the Saugatuck River for several hours on Saturday.

According to attendants at the gate to Compo Beach who spoke to Patch, morning tests again revealed that the water was still not safe for swimming.

The waters off Westport will be tested again for elevated levels of bacteria on Tuesday morning to determine whether swimming can resume at the beaches.

Original story: The fire department was notified of the leak - which was near the I-95 overpass - at about 1:30 p.m. as members of the department's Marine Unit were preparing for a training exercise on the river.

The cause of the leak and spill was a ruptured old sewage pipe that First Selectman Jim Marpe and fire officials said is being replaced.

"We identified the need to replace the current sewer pipe three years ago and were very close to completion," Marpe said in a statement. "My thanks go out to the town and state departments in their prompt and appropriate response to the incident."

A new pipe has already been run under the riverbed and pumps were in the process of being installed to handle the increased capacity, according to Marpe and Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich.

That new pipe was scheduled to be put into service within the next two weeks, official said, but will now be expedited.

The town is working with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as well as state and local health departments, to monitor the situation. Aquarion Water was contacted and they advised town officials that there was no cause for concern regarding contamination of the public wells.

Pumps were shut down and vacuum trucks were called in on Saturday "to manually haul the sewage across the river to the treatment plant," according to officials.

By 6:30 p.m. it was down to a controlled leak, and by 8:30 p.m. the leak was stopped.

"The Town has been in close communication with the Connecticut DEEP and the Weston-Westport Health District," officials said. "Water quality testing will be performed on Monday in effort to re-open the beaches."

Marpe added, "We appreciate the cooperation of our residents and visitors not using the beaches for swimming until we receive the all-clear from the Health District and DEEP."