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Kent County says broken sewer pipe near St. Jones River is fixed

Delaware Public Media

Kent County has repaired the pipe that caused a sewer break along the St. Jones River.

 

Repairs were completed by a county contractor early Thursday morning after the sewer leak near Carroll’s Plaza in Dover was reported around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"The break was in the bottom of the pipe.  We've repaired the pipe, and the pipe is in place and operations are returned to normal," said Kent County Public Works director Diana Golt.

But the break caused one-and-a-half million gallons of untreated sewage flowed into the St. Jones River.

The Kent County Department of Public Works is taking samples of the waterway according to Golt.

"We're taking samples of the waterway, and I don't have any of the results at the current time, but we are doing monitoring. And will do so to see how things are in the waterway," said Golt. "We'll be reporting those to DNREC, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

As for the cause of the break, Golt says they aren’t completely certain.

“Damage to the pipe was in the lower part of the pipe and we believe it may have been caused by construction insulation. This pipe was installed in the early 70's."

She notes despite this incident, drinking water should be safe since it comes from wells, and the sewage in this mishap went into the St. Jones River. 

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in news and radio to Delaware Public Media and the All Things Considered host position. He joined DPM in November 2019 as a reporter and fill-in ATC host after six years as a reporter and anchor at commercial radio stations in New Castle and Sussex Counties.
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