Politics & Government

City Awaits Water Tests After Sewage Spill

There's still more testing to be done before city officials take down warning signs at City Dock.

New information from the Fredericksburg Department of Public Works provides more details on how the city responded to a sewage leak discovered last week.

According to a message from Doug Fawcett, Fredericksburg's public works director,  the leak was discovered on the evening of Tuesday, November 22. Sewage leaked into the Rappahannock River for approximately 24 hours before city officials were able to install a temporary backup pump.

"There has been no overflow into the river since that time," wrote Fawcett in an email. "The station is currently operating on a temporary pump while repairs are performed to the two pumps that failed."

As reported previously, signs were erected at the City Dock on Wednesday, November 23 warning of the sewage leak.

The city sampled water from four locations on the river on November 25 and 26. The results of those samples have been reviewed by city staff. Additional testing was done this morning, and more is scheduled for Wednesday, November 30.

"Once those results are received and reviewed, a decision will be made either that any concern about water quality has passed and that the signs may be removed or to leave the signs in place and to perform additional sampling," wrote Fawcett.

Earlier today, Fredericksburg Patch filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for the results of the tests and other documentation relating to the sewage leak.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here