MSD Project Clear (MSDPC) is cleaning up after a force main break in Maryland Heights. The break was discovered Tuesday morning by MSDPC staff at one of the District’s pump stations. Crews were able to quickly isolate the break, stop the overflow, and contain it to a small wooded area near Creve Coeur Mill Road and Highway 141.
Efforts are now focused on cleanup, with MSDPC using vacuum trucks and pumps to get all wastewater back into the system. That’s expected to take a couple of days. Sewer service will not be affected.
Warning signs have been posted in the area, advising the public of the overflow. While there is no immediate threat to public health or safety, everyone should avoid wastewater. Anyone who comes in direct physical contact with wastewater should immediately and thoroughly wash with soap and water.
A force main is a sewer line that uses pumps to transport wastewater. Pumps and force mains are necessary when gravity alone is not enough to move wastewater through flat areas or over hills to a wastewater treatment plant.
MSDPC has reported the incident to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.