Repairs continue today in the aftermath of a sewage spill on East Fourth Street in Washington Tuesday morning.

At approximately 8:30 a.m., a sewer force main at a ditch crossing was discovered broken by a City of Washington drainage crew performing routine maintenance. Within 10 minutes, Washington sewer personnel were on site assessing the problem and beginning the process of installing dikes to stop the flow into the ditch that drains to Jack’s Creek.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources was notified of the incident within an hour of sewer personnel arriving on the scene. Contract forces were mobilized Tuesday afternoon, and repairs to the broken line were expected to begin today.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the city is unaware of any negative environmental effects. However, stream samples have been taken to assist in the assessment.

As a precaution, state officials issued an advisory warning people not to swim the nearby Pamlico River. It was unclear how much sewage was spilled.