4 Million Gallons Of Sewage Entered Lake Quinsigamond: Officials

WORCESTER, MA — A sewage leak at Worcester's largest pump station leached an estimated 4 million gallons of untreated sewage into Lake Quinsigamond over about two days, city officials said Tuesday.

The leak was contained by about 5:45 p.m. on Monday, officials said. The incident began on Sunday morning when a broken pipe flooded the 83 Lake Ave. pump house with untreated waste, submerging critical pieces of the station.

"Electricians and technicians worked over two days to dry, repair, and replace components in the station so that a pump could be safely re-started. A fleet of tanker trucks was brought to the scene to intercept as much flow as possible by pumping from the station’s inflow sewer," the city said in a news release on Tuesday, adding that the tankers were able to intercept up to about 500,000 gallons before it entered the lake.

Worcester does plan to install an emergency bypass system at the Lake Avenue pump station. The city was waiting on delivery of three new bypass pumps on Tuesday, which could help prevent a future inundation.

The lake remained off limits to recreational users as of Tuesday afternoon due to likely contamination in the water — especially in the vicinity of the pump station just south of Route 9.