The City of Topeka Utility Department is advising Topeka area residents to avoid contact with Butcher Creek from SE 29th St to SE 21st & Lakewood and Shunganunga Creek from 21st & Lakewood to the point of confluence with the Kansas River, as well as a tributary flowing west from 29th & Freemont to Butcher Creek.
Field crews discovered a sanitary sewer overflow in a heavily wooded area stemming from a blocked sewer main. The overflow discharged to a local tributary and eventually into Butcher Creek. The blockage has been removed to stop the overflow, but bacteria levels in the water bodies could remain high.
As a precaution residents are advised to avoid contact with the impacted waterways and to keep pets out of the streams.
Topeka staff will continue to monitor the impacted water bodies and provide notification when the advisory can be lifted.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been notified.