Stay out of the water! Major sewage leak in Red Bank, NJ

💧Contractors struck a pressurized pipe releasing sewage into a storm drain

💧The storm drain empties in the Navesink River

💧Residents along the river should stay out of the water and not eat the fish

RED BANK — Residents and visitors are "strongly advised" to stay out of the Navesink River because of an accidental release of sewage into storm drains.

A drilling crew working in Parking Lot 1 in front of the NJ Transit station at the intersection of Monmouth and Burrowes streets struck a pressurized main. The borough is also discouraging the consumption of fish and shellfish from the area of the Route 35 bridge over the Navesink.

Emergency crews and the state Department of Environmental Protection are working on the cleanup.

Rumson police issued a similar warning downstream from the discharge.

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100 gallons a minute discharged

Capt. Brian Rice of the Navesink River Municipalities Committee said on his Facebook page that about 100 gallons per minute of wastewater was discharged into the drains.

The crew was testing the soil for future development of the area near the train station and had been warned about the pipe, according to Red Bank Green.

Service on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, which resumed service after a day-long suspension on Thursday, is unaffected by the break.

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