A massive sewage leak in Conaway, Virginia, approximately one mile from the Kentucky border, has officials and residents worried about water quality in Fishtrap Lake, a popular boating and fishing destination near Pikeville. The leak began on March 4, 2015, when a deluge of floodwater from major successive snow melt and rain events forcefully removed manhole covers from the city’s collection system. The collection lines, which are located in the stream bed, then filled with rocks and debris, causing a 20-inch diameter sewage line to become clogged for hundreds of feet. When the sewage couldn’t pass the clogged sections of the collection system, it leaked through underwater manholes into the river.

More than a million gallons of raw sewage poured each day into the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, approximately ten miles upstream of Fishtrap Lake. On May 21st, it was reported that more than 118 million gallons of sewage had been released into the river. As of May 27th, crews had made progress dealing with one 700-foot long clog, and some sewage was reaching the Conaway Wastewater Treatment Plant rather than pouring into the river. Greg McClanahan, director of the Buchanan County (VA) Public Service Authority, said that more manpower has been requested, but it is unknown when the leak will be completely fixed.

This unique situation highlights the importance of advance planning, including preparation of the appropriate environmental plans, conducting required inspections, and providing employees with applicable training.  Preparation of a Sewer Overflow Response Plan (SORP), a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), or a Groundwater Protection Plan (GPP) might not have prevented this incident, but the time spent considering the most likely source of collection system blockage, planning an appropriate response, and providing employees with relevant training could have potentially quickened the response time and lessened the environment impact of this event. For example, blockages and subsequent sewage leaks have occurred before in this area, but it still took crews about a week to find the clogs once the leaks became evident, and several more weeks to figure out how to proceed. Compounding the difficulty of the response is the fact the collection system lines run through mountainous terrain and underwater in the stream bed.

http://www.kentucky.com/2015/05/27/3871967/millions-of-gallons-of-sewage.html