The week’s second wastewater spill into a tributary of Lake Lanier was reported Friday by the city of Gainesville – this one totaling about 255,000 gallons. It happened at the Flat Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF).
CITY OF GAINESVILLE NEWS RELEASE:
“On Wednesday, Dec. 13, one of the pumps within the plant malfunctioned. This prevented
proper treatment and resulted in a discharge of higher-than-normal total suspended solids.
An estimated 255,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater was discharged for an hour
and 15 minutes before being resolved. The plant has returned to normal operations and is
producing effluent that meets permit limits.
Daily composite lab results available Thursday, Dec. 14, showed this event resulted in a
daily composite discharge of 46 mg/L total suspended solids, which is above the 25 mg/L
limit required by the discharge permit. The 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 due to this event. The stream was inspected and
tested for water quality parameters. No dead or stressed aquatic life was noted. DWR
contacted the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) as required by the permit,
and implemented the required testing and notification protocol. Monitoring will be continued
and results reported to EPD for the next 12 months.”