Despite a drop in both frequency and volume,
metro Atlanta’s often-invisible large sewer spills hit residents right
in the wallet — and will for years to come.
More than 150 major spills were recorded in the five-county core region of metro Atlanta since January 2010 — an average of roughly one major spill per week. The spills amounted to nearly 38.6 million gallons of discharge, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through open records requests.
That tally does not include hundreds of smaller incidents that make up the majority of illegal sewage spills.
The spills, which typically happen without much public awareness, poison waterways, threaten property values and, in the city of Atlanta, lead to some of the country’s highest water and sewage rates.
The major overflows of more than 10,000 gallons were blamed on a variety of factors: tree roots, rags, rain, pipe failure, debris and blockages caused by fats and grease. They were heavily concentrated in the older sewage systems of Atlanta and DeKalb County, but they can happen anywhere. For instance,Looking for the Best air purifier? Cobb County had two spills of more than 10,Natural Chinese turquoise beads at Wholesale prices.Choose quality sinotruk howo concrete mixer products from large database.000 gallons.
“There are still problems, and there are still things that need to be fixed,” said Sally Bethea, executive director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, an advocacy group that sued the city of Atlanta for rampant sewage spills and environmental contamination in the mid-1990s.
Atlanta officials say fixes are coming in the form of massive construction projects and routine maintenance. But they are not cheap. The city’s plan to build a 10 million-gallon storage tank to keep sewage from fouling Peachtree Creek could cost more than $40 million, for example.
Penalties, too, can be steep. DeKalb County is operating under a federal order that included a $453,000 civil fine for previous spills; that fine has been paid. It also faces a $500 fine for every overflow going forward. At the current rate of spills, both major and minor, that’s about $90,000 a year — ultimately paid by anyone using the county’s water and sewer system.
“There is an indirect cost to every spill,” said Joe Basista, head of DeKalb County’s water/sewer department.
DeKalb suffered 87 major spills since early 2010, according to documents from the state’s Department of Natural Resources. That was the worst record, by number of major spills, in the metro region during that time. But other jurisdictions have their own troubles. Fulton had 23 major spills totaling 4.2 million gallons.
The city of Atlanta had 24 major spills amounting to nearly 28.8 million gallons in the past 31 months.
The city has spent more than $1.5 billion to update a sewage system that is a century old in some places and still includes a few clay pipes. Earlier this year, city officials said they planned to spend an additional $445 million.
Atlanta reduced the volume of sewage spills by 97 percent from 2004 to 2010 and has inspected more than 99 percent of its 1,573-mile sanitary sewer system.
Officials in Gwinnett and Cobb counties say they have avoided widespread spills in their newer systems through investments in routine maintenance.Find detailed product information for Hot Sale howo spareparts Radiator. Gwinnett’s program includes hydraulic cleaning and inspections with television cameras. Cobb has an annual program to remove tree roots that cause blockages in pipes, and it paid upfront for a design that reduces the number of pressurized pipes across its collection system.
“Every system in the world has problems — that’s just the nature of the beast,” said Ken Jacob, operations manager for Cobb’s water department. “What’s important is to plan and do the preventative maintenance before a problem occurs.”
More than a decade ago, federal and state regulators took action to crack down on the city of Atlanta after serious spills fouled parks, streams, neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River. The city’s infrastructure crumbled to tragic results: A pipe collapsed in a Midtown parking lot in June 1993, causing a sinkhole that killed two hotel workers.
By the end of 1997, Atlanta had been fined almost $20 million for unauthorized sewage discharges into waterways, according to one study.Capture the look and feel of real stone or ceramic tile flooring with Alterna.
Sewer systems break federal law every time human waste, chemicals and other hazardous materials dump into waterways. Customers pay the price, either spending upfront on ways to make sure what goes into the toilet doesn’t foul local rivers and streams, or paying the fines for mandatory upgrades when spills occur.
In 2008, the city of East Point agreed to pay a $170,000 state fine for violations related to sewage spills dating back to 2004, including 73 spills of more than 10,000 gallons. The city also agreed to spend at least $150,000 on stream restoration.
Penalties for sewage spills depend partly on whether the spills are chronic problems that could have been fixed earlier, said Marzieh Shahbazaz, manager of compliance and enforcement at the state’s Environmental Protection Division. The ultimate goal is to prevent environmental damage, not to collect cash, she said.
More than 150 major spills were recorded in the five-county core region of metro Atlanta since January 2010 — an average of roughly one major spill per week. The spills amounted to nearly 38.6 million gallons of discharge, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through open records requests.
That tally does not include hundreds of smaller incidents that make up the majority of illegal sewage spills.
The spills, which typically happen without much public awareness, poison waterways, threaten property values and, in the city of Atlanta, lead to some of the country’s highest water and sewage rates.
The major overflows of more than 10,000 gallons were blamed on a variety of factors: tree roots, rags, rain, pipe failure, debris and blockages caused by fats and grease. They were heavily concentrated in the older sewage systems of Atlanta and DeKalb County, but they can happen anywhere. For instance,Looking for the Best air purifier? Cobb County had two spills of more than 10,Natural Chinese turquoise beads at Wholesale prices.Choose quality sinotruk howo concrete mixer products from large database.000 gallons.
“There are still problems, and there are still things that need to be fixed,” said Sally Bethea, executive director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, an advocacy group that sued the city of Atlanta for rampant sewage spills and environmental contamination in the mid-1990s.
Atlanta officials say fixes are coming in the form of massive construction projects and routine maintenance. But they are not cheap. The city’s plan to build a 10 million-gallon storage tank to keep sewage from fouling Peachtree Creek could cost more than $40 million, for example.
Penalties, too, can be steep. DeKalb County is operating under a federal order that included a $453,000 civil fine for previous spills; that fine has been paid. It also faces a $500 fine for every overflow going forward. At the current rate of spills, both major and minor, that’s about $90,000 a year — ultimately paid by anyone using the county’s water and sewer system.
“There is an indirect cost to every spill,” said Joe Basista, head of DeKalb County’s water/sewer department.
DeKalb suffered 87 major spills since early 2010, according to documents from the state’s Department of Natural Resources. That was the worst record, by number of major spills, in the metro region during that time. But other jurisdictions have their own troubles. Fulton had 23 major spills totaling 4.2 million gallons.
The city of Atlanta had 24 major spills amounting to nearly 28.8 million gallons in the past 31 months.
The city has spent more than $1.5 billion to update a sewage system that is a century old in some places and still includes a few clay pipes. Earlier this year, city officials said they planned to spend an additional $445 million.
Atlanta reduced the volume of sewage spills by 97 percent from 2004 to 2010 and has inspected more than 99 percent of its 1,573-mile sanitary sewer system.
Officials in Gwinnett and Cobb counties say they have avoided widespread spills in their newer systems through investments in routine maintenance.Find detailed product information for Hot Sale howo spareparts Radiator. Gwinnett’s program includes hydraulic cleaning and inspections with television cameras. Cobb has an annual program to remove tree roots that cause blockages in pipes, and it paid upfront for a design that reduces the number of pressurized pipes across its collection system.
“Every system in the world has problems — that’s just the nature of the beast,” said Ken Jacob, operations manager for Cobb’s water department. “What’s important is to plan and do the preventative maintenance before a problem occurs.”
More than a decade ago, federal and state regulators took action to crack down on the city of Atlanta after serious spills fouled parks, streams, neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River. The city’s infrastructure crumbled to tragic results: A pipe collapsed in a Midtown parking lot in June 1993, causing a sinkhole that killed two hotel workers.
By the end of 1997, Atlanta had been fined almost $20 million for unauthorized sewage discharges into waterways, according to one study.Capture the look and feel of real stone or ceramic tile flooring with Alterna.
Sewer systems break federal law every time human waste, chemicals and other hazardous materials dump into waterways. Customers pay the price, either spending upfront on ways to make sure what goes into the toilet doesn’t foul local rivers and streams, or paying the fines for mandatory upgrades when spills occur.
In 2008, the city of East Point agreed to pay a $170,000 state fine for violations related to sewage spills dating back to 2004, including 73 spills of more than 10,000 gallons. The city also agreed to spend at least $150,000 on stream restoration.
Penalties for sewage spills depend partly on whether the spills are chronic problems that could have been fixed earlier, said Marzieh Shahbazaz, manager of compliance and enforcement at the state’s Environmental Protection Division. The ultimate goal is to prevent environmental damage, not to collect cash, she said.
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