DOVER, Del. (AP) - A Delaware wastewater treatment plant is operating normally again after state environmental regulators learned about a system malfunction nearly two weeks ago.
The Lewes Wastewater Treatment Plant has resumed full operations, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said in a release late Saturday.
The News Journal of Wilmington reported that since Dec. 18 partially treated sewage from homes and businesses had been discharged into the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and Delaware Bay due to the equipment malfunction. The plant, operated by Tidewater Utilities, had to bypass treatment stages because of it.
The department directed sewage sampling for bacteria levels and monitored potential health risks. The agency also ordered shellfish harvest areas in the lower Delaware Bay be closed due to possible health issues. The closure, which applies to clams, oysters and mussels, will now continue for another three weeks.
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