Millions of gallons of partially treated sewage flow into Oneida River after power outage at Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant

An estimated 5 million gallons of partially treated sewage is flowing into the Oneida River after power was knocked out today at the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant

An estimated 5 million gallons of partially treated sewage will flow into the Oneida River after power was knocked out at the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to the state’s sewage spill alert system.

A utility pole at the plant was damaged after being hit by a construction vehicle at the wastewater plant, said Justin Sayles, a spokesperson for the county.

Five million gallons is the average flow for an entire day at the Oak Orchard plant, which serves a big chunk of Clay and portions of Cicero. The alert said disinfectant is being added to the partially treated sewage before it’s discharged into the river, which runs into the Oswego River.

“Currently the discharge into the water is receiving a disinfectant treatment, but until power is restored the complete treatment process of the sewage is not fully operational,” Sayles said.

The county is expanding the Oak Orchard plant to accommodate expected growth from Micron Technology’s proposed chipmaking plant two miles to the east.

The outage was reported around 1:15 p.m. Over 2,200 National Grid customers were briefly without power after the construction knocked down the pole and attached wires, a utility spokesman said.

“Power is not expected to be restored until midnight,” Sayles said.

Oak Orchard was still without power at 4 p.m., the alert said.