Fairfield sewer pipe collapses, sending sewage into Crow Creek

FAIRFIELD – The public is being asked to avoid Crow Creek in Fairfield after a sewer pipe collapsed Tuesday morning, resulting in sewage flowing into the creek.

The collapsed pipe is located about 120 feet from North B Street near the B Street entrance to Maharishi International University, on Badgett Drive. Shawn Worley, superintendent of Fairfield Wastewater Treatment Facility, said the city discovered the collapsed pipe around 11 a.m. Tuesday, and that a repair crew was dispatched to fix it.

'Water samples have been taken and are being processed, but we advise residents to avoid contact with Crow Creek downstream of the campus until after the repairs are made,” Worley said.

Worley said the pipe's collapse was unrelated to the sewer construction in the area. He said that pipe was old and was going to be replaced in the current round of construction anyway. He said the repair crew will patch it, but it will be abandoned once the new sewer line is operational. He said he did not expect the sewer overflow to necessitate closing any streets in the area, although nearby Granville Drive will close for two months beginning Wednesday because of the sewer construction and not because of the collapsed pipe.