Nearly 32,000 gallons of waste spilled into a Doraville creek after a log was jammed inside a sewer channel, authorities said Monday.
The incident took place in the 2700 block of Chicopee Drive, and the sewage ended up in Nancy Creek, according to a DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management sanitation overflow evaluation report.
The sewer spill was reported about 11:30 a.m. Sunday after an estimated 31,925 gallons of waste had run into the river, the report said. These type of spills can pollute the water and cause public health risks.
» RELATED: When it rains, it spills: Storm causes more sewage overflows in DeKalb
A log was jammed inside a manhole, blocking a 12-inch sewer main, the report said. The log has since been removed, allowing flow to be restored.
The county has a history of its aging sewer system having problems or being overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain, leading to sanitary spills into creek and rivers around DeKalb.
» MORE: Heavy rain overwhelmed DeKalb sewer system, exposed decades of neglect
For nearly a decade, the county has been in an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division to rebuild its infrastructure and stop the repeated spills by 2020.
DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond acknowledged earlier this year that the county will not meet that 2020 deadline, and it could take an additional five years to fix the sewer issues.
» ALSO: DeKalb CEO: County will miss 2020 sewer fix deadline
The county has allocated $1.2 billion toward rehabilitating hundreds of miles of sewer pipes, officials said.
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