LITTLETON, Colo.—A sewage spill that sent 100,000 gallons of raw sewage into the South Platte River, which runs near downtown Denver, was likely diluted and posed little threat to water quality, health officials said Thursday.
Colorado health officials have yet to determine whether the Littleton-Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is jointly operated by the two cities, will be fined, said Brad Simons, a manager in the state’s Water Quality Control Division.
The spill happened Tuesday when a mechanical failure led to tank overflows that sent sewage into the plant and storm drains that lead to the river, said plant manager Dennis Stowe.
Stowe said the incident lasted about 25 minutes.
Simons said Littleton-Englewood officials notified both regulators and Thornton, which takes drinking water out of the river downstream. Thornton managed to shut off its intake valves to allow the contaminated water pass by.
