Maui officials: Somebody broke a big sewage pipe and then tried to hide it under tires

WAILUKU, MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A work crew appears to have cut a sewage line, sending tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the waters off Wailuku on Thursday, and then tried to hide the evidence.

That's according to Maui County officials, who said the cut to the 20-inch force main was clean, straight and appears to have been done by heavy equipment.

About 20 tires were then piled on top of the break.

The spill happened about 9 a.m. Thursday near Waiehu Beach Road.

In addition to the thousands of gallons that got into the water, some 136,000 gallons of sewage was collected by dirt berms.

Maui officials said the pipe in question wasn't corroded and had been replaced seven years ago.

It's unknown whether any crews were working in the area. Maui County said no government projects were scheduled for the area.

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