Permanent Repairs Planned at Sewer Spill Site

DECATUR, Ga. — DeKalb County workers are planning permanent repairs at the site of a major spill at Snapfinger Creek in the unincorporated Lithonia area.

Workers contained the 6.4-million-gallon spill Aug. 26 by repairing the damaged concrete junction box and installing two temporary, redundant bypass systems at the creek crossing.

A 16-inch-diameter tree growing out of a sewer pipe and concrete junction box caused the spill, which was discovered Aug. 23 near Eagle’s Beek Circle, Lithonia, on a 54-inch creek crossing, just north of the Snapfinger Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Department of Watershed Management (DWM) workers began source-tracking of the spill on July 13 after detecting high bacteria counts in the creek. The spill initially was reported on Aug. 24 by DeKalb County to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

After two recent major sewer spills, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond directed DWM to:

• Inspect all pipes along Snapfinger and Nancy creeks;
• Conduct emergency inspections of the county’s 1,000 creek crossings; and
• Implement a plan of regular inspections of sewer lines.

The county continues to warn residents in this area to avoid the spill site and keep their pets from the waterway until further notice. The spill does not affect drinking water.

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