[A] combination of equipment malfunction and heavy rains late Tuesday night caused the release of millions of gallons of partially disinfected wastewater into Lake Champlain from Burlington’s wastewater treatment plant. Again.
“We fully acknowledge, and apologize for, the multiple discharges this season,” the city’s public works director, Chapin Spencer, said in a statement Wednesday evening.
“Our team focuses on protecting the City’s water resources every day and so the equipment and plant process failures that have led to these unpermitted discharges have been extremely frustrating for us as well as the community at large,” he said.
Although no area beaches are technically closed, yellow signs at Blanchard Beach, Blodgett Access Area, the Coast Guard Boat Launch and Perkins Pier caution would-be swimmers and paddlers against entering the lake for 48 hours because of the overflow.
City officials say a computer failure in the plant’s combined sewer system disinfectant pumps led to the partially disinfected wastewater entering the lake after Tuesday night’s thunderstorm.
The risk to public health from the release was minimal because the wastewater was released far enough into the lake and was mixed with fully treated wastewater, according to the city’s public water notice.
“Based on prior similar events bacteria levels did not rise significantly at the beaches, however, caution is warranted for vulnerable populations (infants and toddlers who might ingest water and individuals with compromised immune systems) before recreating in these waters,” the city said in a statement.
Water quality samples taken on Wednesday show that E. Coli levels are well below EPA limits for all four public access areas, said city officials. But Burlington will leave the yellow warning signs will remain in place until Friday morning as required by state law.
The city of Burlington has had multiple unpermitted — and unexpected — wastewater releases this spring and summer. One of the events has been chalked up to human error — city contractors knocked off a manhole cover, backing up a sewer line with construction debris.
The department has said that the other wastewater releases are due to increased stress on Burlington’s outdated wastewater infrastructure as the city grows.
High strength industrial wastewater from breweries has overwhelmed bacteria that help treat wastewater, causing at least one discharge of partially disinfected wastewater. The brewers currently pay a surcharge for their wastewater, but the city is discussing further actions those customers can take, such as diverting some of that waste to be composted.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement that the “unintended, avoidable releases are completely unacceptable.”
“The City’s Department of Public Works (DPW) has a core responsibility to properly treat our sewage and stormwater and fully protect the lake,” Weinberger said.
The mayor has directed Spencer to “immediately devote every available resource, including outside experts, to fully investigate the causes of the recent mechanical discharges and to immediately implement fixes to prevent them from happening again.”
Weinberger has also asked the department to submit a capital upgrade plan for wastewater plants by Dec. 1.
Editor’s note: this article has been updated with the results of E. Coli tests.