With downpours from the remnants of Hurricane Michael soaking the City, crews from Newport’s Department of Public Utilities responded on Friday, Oct. 12th to two separate flooding events stemming from the City’s sanitary sewer system.
The first incident resulted from a valve failure in the 16-inch force main at the intersection of Ellery Road and Prairie Avenue, leading to an overflow at the attached air relief manhole. A bypass pumping system for the force main, which runs from the Bliss Maine Sewer Pumping Station located at 86 Ellery Rd., has been set up in order to replace the failed valve. Repair crews are expected to be on scene into the evening hours.
The second incident occurred at the Washington Street CSO Treatment Facility, located at 25 Washington St. There, the hydraulics on a slide gate malfunctioned, resulting in the gate closing when it should have been opened. The closed gate, in combination with the high flows associated with this morning’s heavy rainfall caused several manholes in the vicinity of the Washington Street CSO Facility and the Long Wharf Pump Station to overflow. Once the gate was opened, the system stabilized and the overflows ceased.
Separately, tidal flooding observed in the area of Marsh and Bridge Street at the intersections with Second and Third Streets was associated with the high tide at 10:48 a.m., and unrelated to the morning’s system failures.
Crews from the Department of Utilities and our Service Contractor, SUEZ will be disinfecting all areas impacted by the overflows. Both events were reported to the RIDEM.
City staff apologizes for any inconveniences caused by the events this morning, and any questions can be directed to the Department of Utilities at (401) 845-5600.
