Signs in Spanish and English are posted on the gate at the entrance to the closed Falmouth Waterfront Park in Stafford. ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR Visit the Photo Place

Parks closed due to sewage

Stafford repairs leaking pipeline; contaminated water still a question

By MEGHANN COTTER

Date published: 6/5/2007

By MEGHANN COTTER

By MEGHANN COTTER

A sewage pipe leak in Stafford will keep Falmouth Waterfront Park, Old Mill Park and Falls Run Creek off limits until further notice.

Stafford officials replaced the pipe yesterday. But the health department is still making sure the water is free of harmful bacteria.

"I know the days are getting nicer and getting hotter," said Cathy Riddle, county spokesperson. "But for their own health [people] need to keep out of the water, keep their kids away from the water and their pets out of the water until we can ensure 100 percent that it's safe."

Officials learned of the seepage after a Sunday afternoon 911 call, reporting a foul odor coming from the Falls Run Creek area. They found that an 8-inch pipe, running alongside Falls Run Creek from England Run to Little Falls Run Wastewater Treatment Plant, was leaking.

It appeared to have given way earlier Sunday to the weight of dirt that had been eroding downhill, Riddle said.

Responders from the Fire and Rescue and Utilities Departments worked through the night to contain the leakage. They brought in pumps and bypassed the broken section.

The state Department of Environmental Quality has been notified. And the Health Department also is advising people to avoid contaminated areas.

Separately, officials in neighboring Spotsylvania are trying to decide how to handle an over-capacity sewer line that has discharged more than 61 times into Massaponax Creek.

Residents have been warned away from that area.

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Date published: 6/5/2007

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