Septage fouls roads near Sudbury River

About 200 gallons of septage spilled onto Acton roadways over the weekend after a town vacuum truck left a sewer maintenance site, according to a release from the town. 

The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Sunday as a Acton Public Works Water and Sewer Division crew was returning to the department’s Keyes Road campus after clearing a sewer backup reported at 35 River Street.

The crew had been working on a sewer siphon on both sides of the Sudbury River crossing on Elm Street when a vacuum truck released an estimated 200 gallons of septage along the roadway while traveling back to the CPW campus, according to a public advisory.

Town Communication Manager Donna McIntosh said the spill was caused by a leak in the truck, which is under repairs. 

“Some debris got stuck in the valve, causing it to stay slightly open,” she said. “The truck is currently being worked on to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The crew leader notified Assistant Superintendent Scott Chalmers at noon, and the superintendent was notified eight minutes later. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection was notified at 12:41 p.m.

The Acton Fire Department flushed streets from Keyes Road to Main Street and Elm Street with about 8,000 gallons of water. Two street sweepers then made repeated passes through the area, also spraying water.

McIntosh said “out of an abundance of caution,” officials advised residents to avoid contact with the Sudbury River downstream of Elm Street and the Acton River for 48 hours following the discharge because of increased health risks from bacteria and other pollutants.

June 9: This story has been updated to reflect that the town corrected its initial statement Tuesday to say that it had not used bleach to disinfect the streets.