Flowery Branch officials discovered Wednesday morning that an equipment malfunction had caused an estimated 25,000 gallons of sewage to flow into a tributary of Lake Lanier.

City manager Bill Andrew said the problem happened at a lift station behind C.W. Davis Middle School, off Falcon Parkway.

"It happened sometime between Monday and this morning," he said. "The motor in the lift station failed because of a burned-out fuse, and the backup generator didn’t kick in."

Andrew said workers restarted the motor and spread lime around the area to clean up any residue from the sewage. Officials also notified the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and collected samples of creek water to test for bacteria.

Andrew said this was the first time in several years that the Flowery Branch sewer system has had a spill.