BATAVIA — The spillage of thousands of gallons of raw sewage Monday into the East Fork of the Little Miami River apparently was the result of an unfortunate coincidence.

        One of two pumps in a lift station of the Batavia Water and Sewer Department failed about 11 p.m. Sunday. The second pump, which would have automatically kicked in when the first one stalled, had been removed for repairs, Village Administrator Bob Stewart said Tuesday.

        “It's very rare for a pump to go out. We schedule them for routine maintenance,” Mr. Stewart said. “It's not unusual for one of the two pumps to go out about once a year, but having them both go down at the same time would be an extremely rare event.”

        The lift station, on Riverside Drive opposite Wood Street, handles all the sewage in the 600-customer system and pumps it uphill so it can be treated across the river at the Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant. The village borrowed a portable pump from Earth Tech, a consultant to the Clermont County Water and Sewer District, and began pumping again about 3 p.m. Monday.

        But thousands of gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the river, causing the health department to issue an advisory to avoid contact with the water between Batavia and Milford until 3 p.m. Tuesday. Mr. Stewart said an exact estimate of how much sewage flowed into the river was not available, but the system handles about 100,000 gallons a day, according to Dr. Janet Rickabaugh, Clermont County health commissioner.

        Dr. Rickabaugh said no calls concerning dead fish were received at the health department or at the 911 center. One call was received from a man who swims in the river daily — and did so before he heard about the warning. He contacted his doctor and had suffered no ill effects, Dr. Rickabaugh said.

        The river is “almost back to normal now,” she said Tuesday afternoon.

        Mr. Stewart said the pump that was taken out for service is due back in place today. The department does not know when the pump that stalled Sunday night will be back.

        The sewer system is designed so that overflow drains into the river in the event of a blockage, to prevent raw sewage from backing up into residences.

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