35,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Kalamazoo River

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - City officials in Kalamazoo say that approximately 35,000 gallons of sewage has been discharged into the Kalamazoo River.

Early Tuesday morning a primary sludge line at the water reclamation plant broke. Officials say that the line discharged onto the ground and drained into a storm sewer at the plant. A valve on that storm sewer had been left open, which allowed the sewage to flow into the river.

City workers have stopped the discharge and are working to repair the sludge line.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services personnel have been notified.

The city says it will monitor the river for the next several days to ascertain any affect.