Multiple sewage discharges into inner Boston Harbor prompt public health warnings

State officials have issued a public health warning following multiple sewage discharges into the inner Boston Harbor on Tuesday and Wednesday caused by an afternoon of rain on Tuesday.

Residents should avoid contact with the inner harbor until the warnings lift, since bacteria and other pollutants in the water could be harmful and cause illness.

Sewage discharges sometimes occur during heavy rains, when rainwater mixes with wastewater and flows into nearby water bodies. 

On Tuesday, a discharge into the Fort Point Channel in South Boston lasted from 3:40 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. A warning related to that discharge will last through Thursday afternoon, 48 hours after the end of the overflow.

Another warning is in place for a separate discharge into the Upper Inner Harbor near Jeffries Point that began at 5:10 a.m. Wednesday and was ongoing as of 10:30 a.m. 

Officials said other discharges that didn’t last for two hours — the threshold for a public health warning — have also occurred.

The Boston Water and Sewer Commission and Massachusetts Water Resources Authority post regular updates on sewage discharges in the Boston Harbor.

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