Design flaw led to sewage spill

VESTAL -- Forensic engineers say a design flaw and construction modifications caused a wall to collapse at an upstate sewage plant, causing nearly 600,000 gallons of wastewater to spill into a tributary of the Susquehanna River.

The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin reports that a Massachusetts engineering firm hired to examine May's wall collapse at the Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewage Plant primarily blames the failure on the arrangement of steel reinforcement bars inside the 18-inch-thick concrete barrier.

A 100-foot-long, 23-foot-tall section of the wall at the plant in suburban Vestal crumbled on the morning of May 16, sending 580,000 gallons of sludge into a nearby creek. Authorities said the Binghamton area's drinking water wasn't affected.

The wall was constructed in 2005 as part of the plant's renovation project.

-- AP