Gulfport waterways safe again after sewage gushers

It’s safe to swim and fish again in several city waterways.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said in a news release Monday afternoon that a no-contact advisory has been lifted between U.S. 49 and Popp’s Ferry Road for Bayou Bernard, the Industrial Seaway and Big Lake.

MDEQ issued the advisory after two sewage spills in Gulfport — one on Crossroads Parkway and the second a real gusher on Glascock Drive in the Bernard Bayou Industrial District. A crew with the city’s water and sewer contractor, Utility Partners, worked through the night and into the next evening to repair a pressurized sewer line that broke below ground on Glascock.

The city estimated at least 500,000 gallons of sewage entered the waterways. The no-contact advisory had to be extended to the east after it was first issued.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Gulfport waterways safe again after sewage gushers."