FAIRHOPE, Ala - A second and larger sewage spill at the same location in just over a month occurred this week when approximately 200 gallons of untreated waste was discharged by the city sewer system into a drainage ditch leading to a tributary of Cow Pen Creek.

An earlier spill of about 50 gallons of raw sewage was discharged March 2, when the same manhole on Spring Lake Drive overflowed.

The spills were caused by electrical failures at a lift station on Autumn Drive, according to the county health department and Fairhope city staff.

A different electronic part was responsible for the April 6 spill from the March spill, said Dan McCrory, superintendent of the city’s water and sewer department.

“We are in the process of replacing the entire control system,” McCrory said Wednesday. “We suspect lightning may have gotten it. We are replacing transient voltage surge suppressors to help with lightning protection.”