A 300-mm diameter pipeline was punctured by a bucket loader, causing 200cu.m of effluent to spill via ditches into the Sèvre Niortaise and Pamproux Rivers. This pipeline was connecting a 2,500cu.m wastewater retention basin at a butcher shop’s meat production facility to the sewer treatment plant. The basin was being drained in order to repair the pipeline. The plant operator cleaned out a pit to avoid leaching during storms. Due to the river pollution, water department officials were required to switch drinking water supply to another production site for at least 5 days.