SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say about 15,000 gallons of untreated wastewater has reached one of Iowa’s Great Lakes.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the wastewater was discovered Wednesday morning in a lagoon on West Okoboji Lake, following an electrical failure at a Spirit Lake pumping station.
The Great Lakes Sanitary Sewer District has stopped the discharge but some wastewater overflowed through two manhole lids. The wastewater reached Lazy Lagoon, on the northwest shore of the lake.
The district is placing lime on the affected areas to neutralize the acidity of the water. The DNR recommends that anglers, children and pets avoid the limed, grassy areas for the next 24 hours.
