Chattahoochee River faced with ‘emergency situation’ due to E. coli elevation

ATLANTA - An Atlanta environmental group said hundreds of millions of gallons of improperly treated sewage is ending up in the Chattahoochee River because of a malfunction at an Atlanta water treatment facility. 

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper are calling it an emergency situation after elevated levels of E. coli have been detected, making it unsafe for people to even be in the water. They are sounding the alarm after the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management has, up until now, said nothing about it.

Brandon Kong and his friend came to Riverview Park in Smyrna on Friday. He said he had no idea about the unsafe levels of bacteria.

"I know a lot of people who walk around like at the park and stuff, and they might want to dip their toes in the water, but they're not aware like there's sewage in there," Kong said.

That is why Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Executive Director Jason Ulseth is spreading the word.

"We test and monitor over 200 locations up and down the Chattahoochee River, from Helen all the way down to Columbus. For the 70-mile stretch of river from Atlanta down to the headwaters of West Point Lake, we are seeing elevated levels of E. coli," Ulseth said.

Ulseth said the source of the problem is Atlanta's R. M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, which he said typically releases around 80-million gallons of treated sewage into the river every day. However, right now, Ulseth said it's not being properly treated.

"Eighty million gallons per day is being dumped or poured into the Chattahoochee River that is not fully treated sewage. So, it's an emergency situation from the plant downstream," Ulseth said.

A spokesperson for the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management wrote in a statement to FOX 5 that recent heavy rain caused failures of its secondary clarifiers at the facility. The clarifiers are pivotal to wastewater treatment. 

Friday was the first time watershed commented on the issue, but Ulseth said this has been a problem for weeks now. He said the only reason there are not a lot of dead fish right now is because the Army Corps of Engineers is draining Lake Lanier. 

"Because of this kind of magic condition that's happening with all the releases from Beaver Dam. So, we have a lot of fresh, clean water coming out of the bottom of the lake that's coming in and diluting the system. When that stops, we're going to have a different story," he said.

The spokesperson for Watershed Management says it deployed eight mobile clarifiers to make up for the damaged ones, and they have now added additional disinfectants to lower levels of E. coli in the water.

Ulseth says his organization will continue to sound the alarm until the levels have significantly dropped.

The full statement from the Atlanta Watershed Management reads:

"There has not been a sewer spill at the RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center. RM Clayton is operational and online. The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) is currently performing corrective and preventive maintenance on multiple secondary clarifiers at the plant due to mechanical failures that were caused by high flows during intense rain events.

"It is worth noting that secondary clarifiers play a pivotal role in wastewater treatment processes, removing additional pollutants and contaminants that might have escaped the primary treatment stage. 

"DWM has developed a mitigation plan for the clarifiers, which involves repairing critical mechanical units sequentially. Eight mobile clarifier units have been deployed during the repair of the existing clarifiers to aid in clarification and remove additional pollutants. DWM initiated these maintenance efforts to ensure optimal treatment performance and infrastructure reliability. At present, additional disinfectants are being introduced to lower the levels of E.coli. We conduct ongoing monitoring and sampling, and in the event of elevated E.coli levels, we take proactive measures to mitigate their impact and collaborate with the EPD to address them.

"These maintenance efforts signify DWM’s commitment to ensuring optimal treatment performance and infrastructure reliability."