A sewage overflow on the morning of Jan. 3 in uptown Port Townsend was dealt with quickly by public works crews, according to public works director Ken Clow.

Clow said that 200 gallons of sewage overflowed from one of the manholes at the intersection of Rose and N streets, with his department receiving word of the incident shortly after 8 a.m.

Workers found roots in the sewer main, which they cut out. They then cleaned out the line and treated the sewage with lime. Workers were slated to return to the site later in the day to check on it, and had sent a video camera through the line to identify any other potential problems.

“Roots tend to be the most common culprit with issues like this, but sometimes we get grease in the line as well,” Clow said. “If anyone notices any flows like this, they should of course contact the city right away.”

Clow noted that the city had contacted the state Department of Ecology and Jefferson County Public Health in turn, just to ensure those entities were kept in the loop.

“Ultimately, this was a fairly minor incident,” Clow said. “It remained on the land, rather than going into the water. If the sewage had gone into a stream or a bay, it would be a much bigger issue.”