A sewage spill at the pump station at the end of the Stonebridge in Onset has caused the closure of some beaches and a temporary ban on shellfishing in Onset Bay, Massachusetts.
After around 2:30 p.m. on Jul. 5, Water Pollution Control Facility crews were working to unclog the pumps and the level in the wet well rose and needed to be released, according to the Wareham Week.
The leak was not related to the pipe replacement on the bridge in 2011, added Wareham Week.
The crews turned on both pumps instead of just one, and between one and five thousand gallons of sewage overflowed into the bay. This was compounded by the tide, which is currently coming in and corralling the waste close to shore.
All beaches within Onset Bay have been closed. Additionally, shellfishing is temporarily banned within Onset Harbor, from Sias Point to Codman’s Point and all points North within Onset Harbor.
The WPCF is taking samples of the water to test for fecal chloroform and the tests will be processed within 24 hours. The determination of when shellfishing can resume is up to the State Department of Marine Fisheries.
A similar situation occurred in 2014, when beaches in and around Onset Harbor were closed after sewage spilled into the bay, according to Wareham Harbormaster Garry Buckminster.
The Buzzard Bay Coalition’s new Onset Bay Center on Onset Beach recently kicked off its first full year of summer programming for youth, as well as for adults and families, in June.