The job to replace approximately 600 feet of sewer line on Forest Avenue in Amsterdam is about half way done. Mayor Michael Villa said yesterday that he expects crews to finish the work by the end of next week.
City Engineer Rich Miller said on Wednesday that although the bypass installed on July 30 around the section of sewer pipe stopped the leak of wastewater, contaminated groundwater from the area is still flowing into the creek. Miller said that the ground between the pipe and the creek is still contaminated and will likely take some time to flush out.
The city has filed daily reports on the situation which have been posted on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website, since the problem was discovered on July 25. He said the city is testing the water regularly and will stop issuing DEC notices once the water becomes cleaner. The most recent notice posted by the DEC yesterday shows a drop in the estimated volume of flow from 50 gallons per minute to 25 gallons per minute.
