Fifty gallons of raw sewage per minute is spewing from a broken sanitary main into the Gwynns Falls in Southwest Baltimore, and the main's wooded location is delaying a fix, according to the city's Department of Public Works.
The break in the 8-inch sewage main in the 4200 block of Franklintown Road — located in the middle of Leakin and Gwynns Falls parks — was identified at noon on Friday, but crews won't begin fixing the problem until daylight Saturday, the department said.
"It is located about a third of a mile into the woods and some large downed trees will have to be moved tomorrow in order to access the site of the break," the department said Friday night.
Signs alerting nearby residents to the leak and residents along the watershed to the fact that "urban streams are subject to pollutants" have been posted, the department said.
Both the Maryland Department of the Environment and the city's health department have also been alerted.
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