Gainesville Regional Utilities has managed to repair a sewer line which broke and spilled more than 400,000 gallons of sewage into Hogtown Creek. The leak was found on Friday, but it took until Saturday evening to make the repair.
GRU is still saying people should avoid contact with Hogtown Creek west of 34th Street and south of University Avenue until further notice, and all of Possum Creek until further notice.
Signs warning of contamination are posted at Hogtown and Possum Creeks and will remain in place until samples confirm that water is no longer impacted. That cleansing process should take three to five days. The utility is still working to figure out how the joint in question failed.
GRU will continue to monitor the creeks and is working with the Health Department and the State and Local Environmental Protection Departments to make sure the water is safe before an all clear is given.
Correction: After reassessing the area, GRU determined the amount of sewage spilled was 900,000 gallons.