The sewer leak into a tributary of the Mohawk River began Monday morning. A NY-Alert Wednesday afternoon says the untreated sewage, caused by a broken pipe, was flowing into the river at an estimated 50 gallons per minute.
The incident occurred less than two weeks after another spill in Amsterdam that released 500,000 gallons of untreated discharge into the river.
Riverkeeper Patrol Boat Captain John Lipscomb said with such frequent breaks, there’s reason for concern.
“That’s a real problem for water quality because the public has no way of using the water body at that point,” said Lipscomb.
Lipscomb says a primary concern is frequent overflows from aging infrastructure during storms.
The Town of Colonie says its water supply is not in danger of being compromised by the Amsterdam spill.
