(DEFIANCE) - City officials in Defiance are warning residents to stay out of the Maumee River near the city after a sewer line failure released untreated wastewater into the river.
The break happened in a line carrying sewage from the Kingsbury pumping station to the Defiance Water Pollution Control facility, allowing sanitary wastewater to enter the waterway.
Officials are urging people to avoid swimming, boating, fishing or drinking from the river in the affected area until testing confirms it is safe.
The city says the municipal drinking water intake is upstream from the break and is not affected.
Defiance officials are now working with the Ohio EPA and the Defiance County Health Department on a corrective action plan.
The advisory will remain in place until water quality tests show the river is safe for recreational and other use again.