A sewer main collapsed in the Hudson Valley leading to 20 gallons of raw sewage being released each minute.

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On Wednesday, City of Newburgh officials confirmed the City of Newburgh Engineering Department discovered a collapse of the sewer main at the southern edge of the city Sunday evening.

The sewer collapse caused an embankment failure directly below the intersection of Liberty Street and Bay View Terrace, officials say.

Initial reports estimated that 20 gallons of raw sewage per minute were being released, which immediately prompted the activation of the City’s Emergency Preparedness Plan.

The plan allowed officials to hire emergency contractors who were able to stop the sewage leak and install a sewer bypass system within hours of the initial discovery, officials say.

"The bypass pump located on Bayview Terrace will continue to be operational with low flows observed in the manhole at Liberty Street and Bay View Terrace. As the project unfolds, additional work will consist of continued sewer main cleaning coupled with a larger excavator that is being mobilized to the project site to haul in stone to stockpile near the collapsed area," City of Newburgh officials wrote in a press release. "Following the completion of the sewer bypass system, City staff and emergency contractors have been working around-the-clock to stabilize the embankment and remove the debris, all of which will ultimately lead to the repair and reconstruction of the collapsed sewer main. More than 1,000 feet of temporary sewer piping was used to establish the bypass system currently in operation. In addition, the City of Newburgh used more than 400 tons of road millings to assist with establishing a road for emergency crews to easily transport materials to the site of the sewer collapse."

Offical believe a positive outcome of the sewage failure is the removal of a significant amount of trash and debris which was scattered across the area surrounding the embankment failure. The removal should lead to significant ecological improvements, officials say.

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