The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority has issued an advisory, warning the public to stay out of public waterways this weekend after a power outage Friday night caused wastewater to overflow from its treatment plant on the North Side of Pittsburgh.
All power went out between 6 and 8 p.m. Friday at the ALCOSAN treatment plant, adjacent to the Ohio River, the authority said in a statement. As a result, ALCOSAN was unable to process wastewater for approximately two hours, causing the plant’s “wet well” to fill and overflow, the authority said.
Duquesne Light restored power to the plant Friday night. As a result of the overflow, ALCOSAN advised recreational users to limit contact with the river and other waterways for 48 hours while fishing, boating or engaging in other recreational activities.
The state Department of Environmental Protection and other regulatory agencies have been notified of the incident, the authority said.