http://centralny.ynn.com/content/top_stories/539018/st--joseph-s-er-resumes-normal-operations/

About a month ago, the St Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse NY experienced a sewer back-up.  The back up actually caused flooding in the ER, causing it to be shut down for just over a day.  During this time, ambulances with emergency patients had to be sent to other hospitals.  The day-long closure was the time necessary to clean up the area and disinfect it adequately, before being able to treat patients again.

This illustrates the necessity of keeping sewers adequately clean and flowing!