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20K-Gallon Sewage Overflow Enters Baltimore Harbor

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore's Department of Public Works says a power outage sent about 20,000 gallons of sewage into the outer harbor.

The 40-minute outage at the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Facility on Saturday evening caused a 40,000 gallon overflow. About half of the overflow re-entered the sanitary sewer on site, but the rest went into the storm drain system and then into the outer harbor.

Officials blame the overflow on a power outage and a circuit interruption to backup power. Officials are investigating whether the incident is related to Saturday's storms or other causes.

The Maryland Department of the Environment and the Baltimore City Health Department have been notified.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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