Seems like a pretty serious mess:
GATLINBURG, Tenn. -- Two workers were missing Tuesday after a wastewater treatment plant in a Smoky Mountains tourist town failed and spilled millions of gallons of sewage.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said a holding tank at the Gatlinburg plant gave way Tuesday morning, sending possibly millions of gallons of sewage into the Little Pigeon River.
Between 1.5 and 3.2 million gallons of sewage spilled, TEMA spokesman Jeremy Heidt said.
Some of the spill entered the small river that flows from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Both cities are top destinations for tourists visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Eric Brakins, assistant city manager for the city of Pigeon Forge, told The Associated Press that his city is helping to look for the two workers.
The cause of the failure hasn't yet been determined, state officials said. The Mountain Press newspaper in Sevierville reported there was a mudslide or rock slide in the area after heavy rains. The paper reported the breach was accompanied by what sounded like an explosion and that water began rushing out.
"There was a catastrophic failure of a holding tank at the plant," said Bob Miller, a spokesman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The National Park Service has personnel on the scene because the sewage flowed into the river, which is on park land and runs between the lanes of U.S. 441, known as The Spur.
"The sewage flowed under (the road) and straight into the Little Pigeon," Miller said.
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Tom and Katharine
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