CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - More than 150,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into a drainage ditch when a pipe broke, officials said.

The break happened at a lift station northwest of Cedar Rapids, spilling the sewage into the ditch, which leads into the Cedar River.

There appeared to be little risk of the spill reaching the river, state environmental officials said Thursday night.

"Right now it looks like everything will be fine, but we are continuing to monitor the situation and see how the repairs progress," said Mike Wade, an environmental specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Workers had shut off the flow and repairs were expected to be finished by Friday morning, said Ken Burns of Modern Piping, Inc., which was working on the repairs.

Crews mixed chlorine into the sewage to kill bacteria and disease-causing organisms, Wade said.

The Linn County Public Health Department inspected the site twice Thursday and found no risk to nearby homeowners or others in the area.

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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/