Nando Times

Sewage pours into Black Sea after pipe bursts in Ukraine

The Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (October 31, 2000 9:37 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - About 665,000 cubic feet of sewage poured into the Black Sea when a pipe burst in the Ukrainian port city of Sevastopol, emergency officials said Tuesday.

The pipe broke Sunday. Officials halted sewage system pumps and diverted the flow of waste into the sea until repairs were completed Monday, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

It was 14th sewer failure in Sevastopol since January, when the city's main sewer pipe broke. The pipe was designed to last only until 1992, but the cash-strapped city could not afford to replace it.

About 7 million cubic feet of waste have been diverted into the sea so far this year, said Viktor Sapon, a spokesman for the emergency ministry branch in Sevastopol.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), October 31, 2000