The Howard County Health Department issued a precautionary health alert Wednesday after a clogged sewer line overflowed at a Laurel rest stop.

Sometime on Tuesday, a clogged private sewer line running from a rest area along northbound Interstate 95 in Laurel to the public sewer system at the State Highway Administration’s Millings storage location caused a sanitary sewage overflow.

An estimated 10,000 to 100,000 gallons of sewage overflowed at the Millings location, the health department said. A visual inspection determined that the overflow was contained on the storage location’s ground surface, health officials said.

Contractors are working on the overflow site to repair the clogged line and apply lime to the discharged water.

The rest area bathrooms were closed to stop the overflow. Portable restrooms are on site, leaving the rest area open.

The Maryland Department of the Environment has been notified of the incident.

In May, roughly 1.3 million gallons of sewage overflowed in a Columbia townhouse community. The spill, estimated to have lasted over 30 hours, was caused by a broken sewage overflow, county officials said at the time.

Last August, roughly 160,000 gallons of sewage overflowed at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant. Only a small amount entered a storm drain, with the bulk overflowing onto the plant’s ground surface.