Residents of Davenport and Bettendorf should try to keep their children and pets away from Duck Creek. This afternoon, the Iowa DNR reported a collapsed sewer line in northwest Davenport is leaking un-treated waste-water from Goose Creek into Duck Creek, which flows through the two cities before reaching the Mississippi River.
The city expects to begin repairs Thursday morning. Stream bank erosion exposed the 10-inch pipe, leading to its collapse. And the failure occurred in a remote area, difficult to access with trucks and repair equipment.
Davenport estimates about 3,000 to 5,000 gallons per day are leaking into the creek, but doesn't yet know when the discharge began.
The DNR says to stay away from these creeks until 48 hours after the sewer line is repaired.
A resident notified the city of the break Tuesday morning, and it began investigating Tuesday night.
A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.