Workers cleaning sewage leak flowing into Eubanks Creek

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Eubanks Creek in Jackson is running sewage and its waters are murky.

That’s how the non-profit Pearl Riverkeeper describes it.

A concerned citizen first tipped off the clean water advocate Friday.

One Riverkeeper named Abby Braman said the sewage runs from behind the Agriculture Museum to Mississippi Museum of Natural History and into the Pearl River at Low Head Dam.

“The smell of sewage is overwhelming,” Braman said.

The non-profit said it reached out to Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Braman said MDEQ responded by saying they launched an investigation after receiving a complaint Friday.

Now, contractors are laying 300 feet of a sewer line to set up a bypass pump.

“The city of Jackson stated that a contractor is working to rehabilitate sections of the Eubanks Creek Interceptor with work starting about a month ago,” Braman said. “They believe there is a collapse in the line that is causing the bypass into Eubanks Creek. The bypass pump will be put in place today [Tuesday] to hopefully stop the discharge.”

Workers say the sewage flow is 95% contained, but Eubanks Creek is one of many tributaries connected to the Pearl River under an MDEQ advisory.

MDEQ issues Water Contact Advisories to warn residents to avoid swimming, wading, and fishing in contaminated areas. And several advisories that are keeping people away are years old.

Pearl Riverkeepers say the bigger issue is that people cannot enjoy the river’s natural resources.

As for Eubanks Creek, you should avoid the area and refrain from fishing at Low Head Dam.

See all other water contact advisories here.

MDEQ has yet to respond to our request for more information.

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