Thousands of gallons of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake

Thousands of pounds of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake after a sewer service connection failed.

An estimated 3,500 to 17,000 gallons of sewage entered the lake, the Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District announced in a news release on Wednesday.

After the sewer service connection failed the sewage entered a storm drain which discharged into Hayden Lake. The area has been disinfected with liquid bleach and sprayed down. The district said it was unclear when the leak began, although it doesn’t appear to have been leaking for long.

Dustin Jacobson, the Hayden Lake Recreational Water Sewer District field operations superintendent, said the break happened at the juncture between the main line and a 2-inch service line running to a private residence. A rubber coupling failed, he said. A caretaker for the home noticed the sewage.

The leak occurred between the Clark House and the Hayden Lake Marina on the south shore of the lake.

The case has been reported to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. There is no known public health or environmental impacts, according to the release.