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Sewage Flow Into a Tennessee River Is Stopped

Sewage Flow Into a Tennessee River Is Stopped

Emergency workers on Wednesday contained a leak at a water treatment plant in Tennessee that had been spewing millions of gallons of largely untreated sewage into a river.

An estimated four million gallons of wastewater poured into the Little Pigeon River after a holding tank wall at the plant collapsed on Tuesday morning, killing two workers, John Eslinger, 53, and Don Storey, 44.

Officials in Gatlinburg, a small tourist destination in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where the plant is located, are now focused on the environmental and economic toll. The state is warning people to avoid swimming or fishing in the river. No drinking water comes from the contaminated portion of the river, city officials said.

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"We're doing extensive sampling upstream and downstream to determine the whole impact," said Tisha Calabrese-Benton, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. "We don't yet know the environmental effect."

Veolia Water North America, which has operated the plant since 1994, is investigating the cause of the collapse, as are state and city officials.

The plant is not yet fully operational again. But city officials said the wastewater is being treated according to state guidelines.

First Published: April 8, 2011, 4:00 a.m.

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