Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Amid another big sewer spill, DeKalb CEO orders emergency inspections

DeKalb CEO talks about Lithonia sewage spill
By
Aug 25, 2017

Amid yet another major sewage spill, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has called for emergency inspections of pipes throughout the county.

The latest spill, which was still active as of Friday afternoon, started Wednesday on Nancy Creek near Lithonia. It came just days after the county finally stopped a massive, 3.9-million gallon sewage spill near Brookhaven.

“The two recent major spills clearly indicate that DeKalb County’s inspection of its sewer system has been deficient,” Thurmond said in a news release. “The regular inspection and maintenance of our sewer infrastructure is now a top priority.”

Thurmond said he instructed the Department of Watershed Management to being inspecting every DeKalb County sewage pipe that crosses a waterway, and to begin to “implement a plan of regular inspections of sewer lines.

Read more about the latest sewage spill near Lithonia — including its believed cause — and how DeKalb County plans to prevent such incidents in the future on myAJC.com.

About the Author

Before taking over the AJC's Sports Daily newsletter, Tyler Estep spent two years writing the A.M. ATL newsletter. A Gwinnett County native and University of Georgia graduate, he has been with the AJC since 2015 and previously worked as a reporter on the breaking news, hyperlocal and local government teams.

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