VENTNOR--An underwater sewage leak in Ventnor has officials scrambling to fix the problem. Residents living nearby say they know these kinds of things sometimes happen, they just want it taken care of.

"Something floating on top of the water and I look at it and say, that's no good." Luis Preira knew something was wrong this weekend when he saw what looked like raw sewage floating by his Ventnor Heights home. "Smelled bad, especially by the dock, it smells really bad."

Little did Preira know at the time, these issues were due to a leaking underwater sewer line just yards from his home. "There's a breach in the pipe that goes over to the sewer main," said Commissioner Stephen Weintrob who oversees the Public Works Department for Ventnor, "it's very significant."

Officials say they noticed the 2-3 foot hole in the underwater line on Friday, since then an emergency pump has been used to reduce the amount of sewage that's entering the water. "Now that the pump is working, it's pulling through most of it, most all of it," said Weintrob, "that's why it's not dangerous. If the pump went down, that's a different story."

Today local, county and state officials gathered to examine the problem, which they hope to have fixed by this weekend. Officials say they have to wait for an extremely low tide to put in the new pipe, and during that time, the intercoastal waterway will have to be closed to boaters.

"I'm not happy about it, but I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened," said waterfront resident, Renee Alford, "It doesn't absolutely disgust me, I haven't seen anything or noticed a difference. It's not great, but obviously they're going to take care of it. It would be nice if they could keep any of us along here on top of what's happening."

While officials work to fix the problem, they tell residents to use common sense...don't swim in the area and cut down on your water usage.