Wastewater contamination that has affected a section of the Big Black River in Madison and Hinds counties should not affect the Big Black south of Interstate 20, an official with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said.

“It’s not expected to affect the river past I-20,” said   Doug Upton, chief of the field testing for MDEQ’s pollution control division. “We really don’t expect it to affect the lower end of the advisory area by the I-20 bridge.”

MDEQ issued a water contact advisory Wednesday after determining wastewater from a sewer treatment lagoon leaked into the river. The advisory was for a segment of the Big Black River in Madison and Hinds counties that extended from a point where the river intersected Burnt Corn Creek near Kearney Park in Flora to the intersection of the river with I-20 in the Edwards and Flowers area east of the Warren County line as a precaution.

The advisory recommended people avoid water contact such as swimming, wading, and fishing. People should also avoid eating fish or anything else taken from these waters until further notice.

Upton said the discharge was caused when a pipe at the lagoon failed and water leaked into nearby Burnt Corn Creek, which flows into the Big Black. He said the problem occurred between Dec. 10 and Tuesday, adding it was discovered Tuesday. The system, he said was working properly when it was checked Thursday.

“The water was partially treated, so it wasn’t like raw sewage was discharged into the water,” he said, “and the rains we had over the weekend helped dilute it.”

He did not know when the advisory would be lifted. He said MDEQ officials will take water samples next week for further testing.