Gainesville officials Friday reported that there was a sewage spill of “an estimated” 541,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater last weekend from the Flat Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).
“On Saturday, May 23, a pump located within the Flat Creek WRF malfunctioned, which
prevented final treatment of wastewater and resulted in a discharge of higher-than-normal
total suspended solids,” spokeswoman Christina Santee wrote in an email. “An estimated 541,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater was discharged for an hour and 30 minutes before being resolved. The pump was repaired and the plant has returned to normal operations, producing effluent that meets permit limits.’
Santee added that “Daily composite lab results available Tuesday, May 26, showed this event resulted in a
discharge of 128 mg/L total suspended solids. Flat Creek WRF is subject to one of the
most stringent permits in the state of Georgia. The permit designates a discharge of over
25 mg/L as a major spill.”
No impacts to Flat Creek are expected because of the spill, she said. The stream was inspected and
tested for water quality parameters with no dead or stressed aquatic life found. Monitoring, however, will continue and results reported to EPD for the next 12 months.