St. Maries River floods

FERNWOOD - The St. Maries River flooded Saturday and reportedly covered a manhole in Fernwood, possibly leaking wastewater into the river.

Fernwood is on Highway 3 south of St. Maries.

According to a Fernwood Water and Sewer District press release, the manhole was covered about 10:30 a.m. The area was still accessible, but water could be seen flowing into the manhole.

The same situation was evident Sunday morning, the release said. As of Monday afternoon, the sewer district does not know if wastewater has entered the St. Maries River.

If the pumps could not keep pace, there could have been a flow reversal, the release said. However, the wastewater was mostly storm water.

At this time of year there is virtually no human contact recreation on the river near Fernwood, the release said. The district said it does not expect any adverse health effect on humans or wildlife.