A broken sewer main brought emergency crews to West Sixth Street just past the Baker Park inner drive entrance Tuesday afternoon.
“The city has a broken force main on Sixth Street adjacent to the lift station just east of Cottage Street,” City Manager Gary Bradley wrote in a news release.
The release said the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Illinois EPA, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Henry County Office of Emergency Management were notified of the broken main.
The Kewanee Fire Department responded to the scene to ensure containment of the overflow.
Sixth Street was down to one lane as crews worked to repair the broken line.
“A hydrant has been opened to dilute the sanitary sewer that is overflowing, and my understanding is that both the overflow and dilutant are being redirected back into the sanitary sewer system,” Bradley wrote.
He wrote that residents in the area may experience rusty water, as the continuous flow of water from the hydrant stirs up sediment inside the mains that serve that portion of the community.
