KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A company doing underground utility work in the area of Blue Parkway and Kensington Avenue last week ended up cracking a main that sent sewage into Brush Creek.
Amir Kenner, a senior engineering technician at the Kansas City Water Department, said orange conduits installed by an unknown company are to blame for the damaged sewer main.
During last week’s heavy downpours, sewage bubbled up to the surface along Blue Parkway.
“And then it actually made its way out to the street and entered into a storm drain sewer, which eventually was conveyed to brush creek,” Kenner said.
According to the water department, the spill sent approximately 100 gallons of sewage into Brush Creek every minute for two days.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is aware of the incident.
A representative told 41 Action News that the rainwater helped dilute much of the sewage, and at this time it doesn’t pose a danger to the environment.
“This is something that we find out either conducting field surveys through CCTV inspections or we get a call from a property owner who is experiencing sewer backups,” Kenner said.
That was recently the case at 36th Street and Cherry Avenue, when a utility company struck a private sewer line. The water department moved in to repair the line.
“We will file a claim and that claim is submitted to the responsible party, and the funding to my knowledge goes back to the general fund,” Kenner said.
But at Blue Parkway, an investigation is still underway to find the company responsible for the mess.
Kenner urges those who are doing underground work to call “Missouri One” at 811 before they dig.
“Give us a call so we can help assist the entity with locating our utilities,” Kenner said.
In the meantime, the water department has hired a contractor to repair the broken main at Blue Parkway.
