CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Engineers and divers worked in the shadow of Chesapeake's Great Bridge lock, Wednesday, to locate a sewage main break that spilled 2.5 million gallons of wastewater into the Elizabeth River.
The spill happened 11 days prior, when, according to an Army Corps of Engineers report, part of a dredge moving through the canal struck the 20-inch pipe located at the bottom.
The Hampton Roads Sanitation District said it wasn't notified about the damaged main for several hours when city crews noticed bubbles and wastewater at the site of the strike. The pipe was then shut down.
Wednesday morning, contractors from Bridgeman Civil arrived with equipment to push air through the broken line, which the HRSD says created bubbles so a diver could locate the exact point of the leak.
The damage was found to be significant.
“What we could see underwater was about six or seven feet of our pipeline was crushed when the dredge came into contact with it," said Jeff Scarano, Chief of Special Projects and Engineering for HRSD. “We expected the damage to be bad and the vintage of the pipe and the material that it’s made of doesn’t break well.”
News 3 is told the diver took photos and video that will help determine the best way to repair the damage. HRSD says the long-term sustainability of the sewage main will also be assessed, but the hope is to get it back online.
The line will remain shut off in the meantime. The Virginia Department of Health is asking that people avoid swimming and fishing in that area of the canal until further notice.
UPDATE: Break located, diver is in!@HRSDVA says this is the next step in figuring out the best way to repair the sewage main damaged when a dredge struck earlier this month. #Chesapeake https://t.co/uDpZBAR7Zm @WTKR3 pic.twitter.com/ZcxANUTh4i
— Anthony Sabella (@AnthonyWTKR) March 22, 2023
