Midwest floodwaters tainted with sewage, chemicals

Raw sewage is flowing into rivers and streams across central and eastern Iowa as one after another wastewater facilities are inundated by the record floods that have swept the state during the past two weeks. Livestock manure is also part of the nasty mix, along with spilled fuel and chemicals, all heading to the flooding Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico. The US Environmental Protection Agency is warning people to avoid contact with floodwater that may be contaminated with sewage or hazardous substances because exposure to the waste could transmit intestinal illnesses and skin infections. Do not wade, swim, or enter floodwaters and immediately wash hands and bare skin that comes in contact with floodwater with soap and hot water, health officials warn. It could be weeks before hundreds of damaged sewage treatment plants are operating again, say officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. In southeast Iowa, sewage plants at Keosauqua and Bonaparte are flooded, and Ottumwa is allowing some wastes to flow into streams, DNR officials said. Officials in Burlington shut down the city's sewage treatment plant and all Burlington sewage is now entering the Mississippi River.