Small Washington Town’s Street Corner Drowning in Leaking Sewage?

City Police released a warning saying "A private company (not us) hit the sewer line and covered Wood and Maple in...(poop emoji)

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Washington Town Suddenly Drowning in Large Poop Pond?

On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, around 10:30 in the morning, the Sumner Police Department posted a warning on their Facebook page about a broken sewer line caused by nearby construction. The post says "Heads up! A private company (not us) hit the sewer line and covered Wood and Maple in....(poop emoji)." They go on to say that Public Works was working on the problem and that the location would be closed to traffic. They also warned that the sewer line break might also affect water service in the area.

Update Hours Later Identifies the Problem

Hours later around 1:50 pm, Public Works had dug into the ground at the site and found the culprit wasn't a broken sewer line at all. Instead of a sewer line, they luckily just hit a water line and the brown sludge that had buried the neighborhood block was only mud and sand. "Update: after further investigation, the spill was just a water line, not a sewer! The water picked up tons of dirt and sand as it shot up which is what created the brown sludge."

How Did They Confuse Mudd with Sewer Water?

The first thing I thought after hearing the update was how could anyone get muddy water and sewage confused? All it should take is a quick whiff with your nose to tell if the pond was poop or mudd, but maybe I am wrong. The bad news about the update was that the area was going to have to remain closed to traffic because the road will need heavy repairs. You can see from the released photos how much of the roadway was missing after the water break.