Raw sewage from Bellevue spewed under and across Trout Unlimited property towards the Crowsnest River August 7 and 8 after a blocked sewer line backed-up and burst. Waste gushed through two manholes near Highway 3  and down a ravine east of Hillcrest.

    Municipal public works officials say they have no idea how much untreated waste entered the river, but it flowed unabated for up to 24 hours before the problem was corrected.  

          About 700 metres of sewer line was initially clogged by waste ranging from plastic bags and rags to lengths of lumber that must have been intentionally placed in the storm system that links with the sanitary sewer, they add. The combined sanitary and storm sewer waste was headed for the Bellevue-Hillcrest sewage treatment lagoons.  

  Fisheries officials could not be reached for comment. Clean-up work and corrections to the system will be ongoing this summer.