Divers Patch Leaking Lynn Harbor Sewer Pipe

LYNN (CBS) -- Divers were dispatched to Lynn Harbor Tuesday to fix leaks in a 3-mile long outfall pipe that spans from the city's waste water treatment facility out to the ocean.

The pipe is carrying clean effluent water.

"Seems counter-intuitive that environmental officials would be concerned about water that's too clean going into the ocean at that level," Dan O'Neill, executive director of the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.

State and federal officials say the leak is closer to the facility than deemed acceptable.

"Their point is that it should be dispersed and diluted farther out into the ocean," O'Neill said.

Water and Sewer Commission executives declared the leak an "emergency" to get the pipe fixed sooner. Divers will attach a pre-fabricated piece of steel to the pipe to patch the holes. The repairs will cost around $30,000.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports