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Posted: 12/28/20
Updated Water Contact Advisory for Segment of Mississippi River
Little Rock, Ark. – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has updated a water contact advisory it issued last year for a section of the Mississippi River near Greenville. The advisory includes the section of the river beginning near coordinates N33.354134 W91.129622 and ending at the Mississippi/Arkansas state line (see map below). An ADH advisory starts at the state line and continues downstream to the US-82/US-278 Greenville Bridge over the Mississippi River.
The advisory was initially issued due to operational issues at the City of Greenville’s wastewater treatment plant that resulted in the discharge of minimally treated wastewater into the river. The city has scheduled repair work for its wastewater treatment system beginning this week and continuing through the end of March 2021, which will result in a planned discharge of minimally treated wastewater into the river.
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) recommends that people and pets, including dogs, avoid contact with river water until further notice. Contact with river water would include activities such as swimming, wading, fishing, and eating fish or anything else taken from these waters.
The states of Arkansas and Mississippi are working together to continue to monitor the effects of the wastewater discharge and its effects on surrounding environments.
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