Latest Weather Blog
Sewage overflowing in Denham Springs neighborhood; generator helping for now
Related Story
DENHAM SPRINGS - A pump station in a Livingston Parish neighborhood has been broken for weeks. At times, sewage overflows out of a manhole.
Aaron Everett lives near that manhole and contacted 2 On Your Side about his concerns.
"The smell is God-awful," Everett said. "I've seen toilet paper coming out the top of this manhole."
It's happened during various weather, rain or shine. Everett says water shoots out of it and floods the drainage ditch.
Magnolia Water Utility is over the sewage system in Everett's neighborhood. He says he's spoken to the company about what's been happening.
"I spoke to the guy from the pump company. And he told me between the aerators and the pumps, it's taking too much amperage to run off the circuit that they have. And it's frying the breakers," Everett said.
A large generator is parked near the pump station, keeping it online. Everett says someone recently swapped out the generator for a bigger one and is worried that a permanent fix hasn't happened.
"What happens if we have a storm," he said.
The environmental toll is also concerning to Everett. He says when the sewage overflows, it fills up the ditch, runs through a swampy area, and into nearby ponds.
"We have kids who swim in these ponds, they have no idea that this is in there," he said. "They're swimming with contaminated water big time."
He's concerned the sewage is having a negative effect on the vegetation and marine life.
"It needs to be addressed immediately it's been going on too long," he said.
Magnolia Water says the lift station tripped and the breaker has been reset. The blowers have been turned off to ensure the plant doesn't overflow. For now, the manhole is covered in lime and a crew has been out to suck the sewage from the ditch.
Entergy confirms it has a work order involving Magnolia Water. It's waiting on a response from the wastewater company before they can move forward with repairs. The pump outage is not a result of Entergy equipment.
News
