Sewage Spill At Big Timber Creek In Gloucester Twp.: Officials

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Residents are being advised not to swim in Big Timber Creek following a sewage spill that took place Wednesday morning.

The CCMUA pump station in Gloucester Township experienced what county officials called an infrastructure malfunction that resulted a sewage spill into Big Timber Creek at about 10 a.m., officials said Wednesday evening. The failure was rectified by 12:30 p.m., officials said.

The Camden County Health Department and local first responders were told about the spill, and will be monitoring it for the next 24 hours, officials said.

“At this point, the health department is asking for individuals to stay out of the body of water for the near term,” Camden County Spokesman Dan Keashen said. “This means no fishing, swimming or recreating of any kind in the creek until the spill has dissipated. The incident will not affect public drinking water and will not have any long-term affects to the health of the waterway.”

CCMUA engineers were still working to determine the cause of the malfunction Wednesday evening, Keashen said. More information will be provided once it becomes available.

Big Timber Creek flows over 63 square miles and through 28 communities, according to a government website dedicated to the creek. The north branch of the creek drains in urban Camden County, while the south branch joins the Delaware River between Gloucester City and Westville.

Major lakes within the Big Timber Creek watershed include Almonesson Lake, Jones Lake, Grenlock Lake, Hirsch Pond, Clementon Lake and Blackwood Lake.

Other tributaries include Almonesson Creek, Beaver Brook, Holly Run, Little Lebanon Branch, Otter Brook, Stone Bridge Branch, Toms Branch, and Little Timber Creek.

Other towns down river from the waterway include Runnemede, Bellmawr, Brooklawn and Deptford.