CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Crews spent long hours over the weekend repairing a damaged sewer main in Clarksville that spilled sewage in the Timber Springs subdivision.

City spokesperson Richard Stevens said in a release that Clarkville Gas & Water (CGW) crews worked for 21 hours Sunday and Monday to repair the 12-inch sewer main line that failed near the intersection of Trenton Road and Stillwood Drive.

As required by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), signs will be posted on a nearby creek to meet public notification requirements and a sewer overflow report has been submitted as required.

CGW officials said there was no contamination of drinking water, nor any intentional release of raw sewage during the event.

Stevens said the break was 18-feet deep and under a large entrance wall for the Timber Springs subdivision. A 6-inch high-pressure gas main, a 2-inch gas main and a 12-inch water main all were in the same area, and care had to be taken during excavation to minimize potential damage to other utilities, CGW officials said.

The ordeal began at 1:37 a.m. Sunday when the CGW emergency after-hours phone line received a report of a sulfur like smell and possible gas odor. A gas-leak technician arrived at 1:47 a.m., diagnosed the sewer problem and called in a sewer crew to investigate.

The water/wastewater supervisor was on the scene at 2:47 a.m. Sunday and the Wastewater Collections System Manager and a sewer construction crew mobilized and responded at about 3 a.m. to begin repairs in accordance CGW Sewer Overflow Response Plan.

An emergency locate for underground utility lines was called in to Tennessee 811. Under state law, a crew cannot start digging until 2 hours after an emergency locate call has been made.

The damaged force main was on a large manifold where several sewer lift stations pump into it and it is not possible to stop flow without causing a multiple-point overflow. During excavation, the crew damaged and repaired a 2-inch gas main that was not mapped.

A CDE crew also was called in to pull an electric meter off the entrance wall. The wall and some trees had to be demolished in order to access the sewer main below it.

“CGW officials said the Wastewater Collections System Manager and the repair crew performed admirably during the late-night emergency,” Stevens said. “Seven crew members responded and were on the clock by 3 a.m. Sunday. Two more crew members were on the clock at 3:30 a.m. The last two were on the clock at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday. The crew worked until 12:15 a.m. Monday, totaling a 21-hour emergency repair operation in which 7 feet of 12-inch force main were installed.”

Around 10 a.m. Monday, crews were finalizing cleanup and spreading lime over the affected area.