Special Report: Boaters urged to avoid river below Selinsgrove as sewage line rupture impacts Penns Creek, Susquehanna watershed

A section of Susquehanna River can be seen at the Hoover Island Boat Launch south of Selinsgrove where a large sewage line ruptured on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. Photo by Riverkeeper John Zaktansky.

Riverkeeper note: The following is updated information from the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association as it continues to follow a large sewage line rupture. Check back for more updates as they are available. Have questions, comments or information to share with our Riverkeeper? Send them to [email protected]

A large 20-inch sewage line rupture near the East Snyder County Sewage Treatment Facility on the south end of Selinsgrove, PA, in Snyder County, is spilling raw sewage into the Penns Creek, lower Middle Creek and then flowing into the Susquehanna River just above the Hoover Island boat launch area.

The rupture was found early Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, and as of 3 p.m., authorities are still unsure when the pipe - which moves an average of two million gallons of sewage a day from communities including Selinsgrove, Shamokin Dam and Penn Township - will be repaired.

"All residents of Shamokin Dam Borough, Monroe Township, Penn Township, and Selinsgrove Borough are requested to limit use until repairs can be made. There is no estimated time of repair at this time," according to a press release from the Snyder County Emergency Management Authority. "Ways to limit use would be to not run the dishwasher until it is full, only do laundry if you have to, limit time in shower, etc.  This does not mean that you can’t use the toilet."

An emergency response ​team from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and officials from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have been on the scene since late morning and excavators have been delivered to the site of the break, which is located across Market Street from the Selinsgrove Speedway.

"There are no surface water intakes for public drinking water in the affected area and drinking water systems downstream of the incident were notified," according to a press release from the DEP.  "Public drinking water supplies are safe and may continue to be used."

"I have been on site in numerous locations at the site and downstream and talking to my contacts at the DEP, Fish and Boat and other groups responding to this," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "Until things are fixed and the sewage impacts better evaluated, it is highly recommended everyone uses common sense and stays off Penns Creek and the river below Selinsgrove. There are plenty of places to fish and recreationally enjoy the river above this site."

At the Hoover Island boat launch, no boat trailers were seen at 3 p.m., but bubbling consistent with potential sewage pollution could be seen collecting along vegetation on the edge of the shore, according to Zaktansky.

"Those bubbles and foaming in general can come from numerous non-sewage sources, and last night's heavy storms make it much harder to evaluate the impact of this event due to the higher water level, sediment and lack of clarity already in the water flowing downstream," he said. "For now, be smart and avoid contact with the water until we can get some sampling done and a better idea of what the bacterial concentrations are at various parts of the river and potential impacts will be." 

More information will be shared as it becomes available on this situation.

Bubbling can be seen flowing down the edge of the Susquehanna River south of Selinsgrove at the Hoover Island Boat Launch a few miles downstream of a sewage line rupture. Photos by Riverkeeper John Zaktansky.