A sanitary sewer blockage caused the discharge of untreated wastewater onto the street and into nearby storm inlets in west Madison Friday, according to a City of Madison release.
City engineering crews arrived at the source of the overflow, a sanitary access structure located on the 4800 block of Mineral Point Road, at approximately 8:45 a.m. They located and removed the pipe blockage within 45 minutes.
The responding crew cleaned the street and storm sewers, removing all wastewater before any contamination of surface water could occur.
Assistant City Engineer Mike Dailey said the blockage was caused by a local resident flushing a rag down the toilet.
“It’s not an uncommon problem,” Dailey said. “People flush things down that shouldn’t be flushed down.”
Dailey said Madison sees about 20 to 30 pipe blockages per year, though few discharge wastewater into the street.
