An 11-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee River remained closed for the Fourth of July holiday weekend — and maybe for another week — because a spill of insufficiently treated sewage from Fulton County’s Big Creek wastewater treatment plant polluted the river.
Fulton County Public Works Director David Clark said Monday it wasn’t gallons of raw sewage pouring into the river that delivered dangerously high levels of the bacteria E. coli — it was many gallons of poorly treated wastewater. The National Park Service ordered the closing that meant no swimming or tubing along the popular river stretch.
“We’ve been saying that it’s not raw sewage that is entering the Chattahoochee,” Clark told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s partially treated wastewater because it’s still being stripped of any organic material. It’s still having some biology done to it.”
At issue are the unsafe levels of E. coli, a potentially dangerous bacterium found in fecal matter and sometimes an indicator of the presence of other possibly dangerous pathogens.
The spill was discovered Thursday, when Chattahoochee Riverkeepers discovered the discharge into the river at Morgan Falls, near Sandy Springs. At first, it was thought a broken pipe was discharging raw, untreated sewage into the popular river, but Clark said the plant malfunction was later determined to be the cause.
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth said that in his 16 years on the job, this is the first time that the Chattahoochee River has been closed. He said it is not uncommon for sewage to be discharged into the river, but the failed treatment issues are.
Warm weather, low water levels, people on the water and larger traces of E. coli found in the river made for the perfect storm of conditions to warrant a closing.
The National Park Service first ordered six miles closed on Friday, but nearly doubled the unsafe zone to 11 miles on Saturday.
Ulseth said the E. coli levels were “dangerous,” even with any contact with the water. He said bits of toilet paper and sewage were seen floating through the river water.
Most E. coli strains are relatively harmless, posing a threat to the elderly, the very young or those with compromised immune systems. Some strains can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections or pneumonia.
While the City of Atlanta draws drinking water from intake points several miles downriver, officials say the contamination is not affecting the drinking water for Atlanta.
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Fulton County officials said Monday afternoon they are working to get the river reopened as soon as possible.
Ulseth said that it could take days or even weeks. Jessica Corbitt, Director of External Affairs for Fulton, echoed something similar.
“Could be as early as a couple of days, could be as long as a week,” Corbitt said.
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