MT. VERNON, IL — The City of Mt. Vernon is reporting an unknown amount of raw sewage has been cleaned up after spilling from a broken pipe near Woodland Road.

The leak was reportedly discovered last Friday in an area owned by Union Pacific Railroad and Continental Tire. The city was alerted that morning that one of their pumps was not pushing enough water. Workers installed sump pumps and built a dam over a portion of Casey Fork Creek in order to keep the raw sewage from going into Rend Lake. Crews were reportedly able to contain the raw sewage by about 6:30 p.m. and left pumps running over the weekend.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was on site to oversee process and recommended the city continue the pumping and to flush the area with fresh water throughout the weekend. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency estimates about 1.5 million gallons of raw sewage may have been spilled out.

The pipe had been damaged before and the city replaced the line underground. It should be ready to go online in about 30 days.