The city of Salem is working with farmers and landowners in West Salem and Keizer to clean up land after the area was contaminated by nearly 19 million gallons of sewage following two pipeline failures last month.  The size of the spill is according to a city report submitted to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Dec. 31. It detailed the Dec. 27 line failures, which prompted two days of sewer service restrictions in West Salem. Salem Reporter obtained the report from the city. City crews worked overnight to repair the mains and restored sewer service on Dec. 28. The repairs cost $170,000 and required a total of 205 hours of labor to complete, including help from outside contractors, city spokeswoman Kathy Ursprung said.  “This is considered a temporary repair until staff can evaluate the line and make permanent repairs this summer,” Ursprung told Salem Reporter in an email.  The Willamette River and Glen Creek were both tested for E. coli after the pipe failure. According to the city report, bacteria levels in the Willamette River were the same upstream and downstream from the spill by Dec. 29. The report showed E. coli levels for Glen Creek were still above normal as of Dec. 30. Less than a week after the pipeline failure, West Salem’s creeks and streams were determined to be at normal bacterial levels, city officials said. West Salem freshwater levels back to normal after sewer pipes broke  The pipe failures started on Dec. 26 during heavy rains when a 50-year-old sewer line carrying waste from West Salem broke in Keizer south of the city sewage treatment plant. The line is one of two carrying sewage across the Willamette River to Salem’s treatment center.  After that pipe failed, an 18-inch pipe was left handling all wastewater, causing it to fail on Dec. 27.  The failure left 34,000 residents without sewer service for two days. The city urged people in West Salem to reduce how often they flush toilets, and to delay “non-essential water uses such as for cleaning dishes and laundry.” Ursprung said the amount of sewage estimated to have been released indicates residents made efforts to reduce water usage following a city appeal.  “As with all of these figures, this is an estimate, but average daily flow from West Salem is 8 million to 10 million gallons,” Ursprung said in an email. “Total overflow over three days was about 19.3 million gallons, so it appears that there was some response from our appeal.”  According to the city’s report there was one site in Keizer and three sites in West Salem affected by the pipeline failure. The city’s risk management department is working with farmers and landowners on assessing property damage and cleanup.  The sites affected according to the report include land at 1737 Trent Ave N. in Keizer, and 2550 Wallace Road N.W., 1990 Wallace Road N.W., and 200 Glen Creek Road N.W. in West Salem.  Ursprung said the Keizer property is owned by the city of Salem and leased to a Keizer farmer. As of Tuesday, the city had not heard back from the other affected landowners in West Salem, Ursprung said.  She said city officials followed state Department of Environmental Quality requirements for notification, but “haven’t had any additional contact with the West Salem owners, who apparently do not live in the local area.” PREVIOUS COVERAGE: City restores full sewer service to West Salem after two days of restrictions Fix on second sewer pipe progressing, city expects to restore West Salem service Sunday All-night work repairs one sewer pipe as city sets to restore West Salem service  City plans to fix West Salem sewer main early Saturday as raw sewage spills into Willamette River The post City reports 19 million gallons of sewage spilled after West Salem pipes failed  appeared first on Salem Reporter.