In answer to a request for an update on the spill of 7 million gallons of wastewater from the Cobb County Water System’s (CCWS) Northwest Water Reclamation Facility into Lake Allatoona on April 28, Cobb County Communications Director Ross Cavitt sent the Courier the following email:

“This was a ‘spill’ in the definition of the GA EPD, but as the release said it did not adversely impact drinking water supplies.  When they analyzed the WRF, they found systems were working properly and that the facility has “self-corrected,”  Cavitt wrote. “They are trying to figure out what happened to lead to the result, including the possibility someone might have dumped something into the system.”

Original article

Cobb County distributed the following notice of spill from the Cobb County Water System’s (CCWS) Northwest Water Reclamation Facility into Lake Allatoona:

May 4, 2022 – Notice of spill from the Cobb County Water System’s (CCWS) Northwest Water Reclamation Facility.

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Cobb County Water System’s Northwest Water Reclamation Facility discharged treated wastewater that did not fully meet the facility’s discharge standards.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division defines the discharge of wastewater that doesn’t meet applicable standards as a “spill”.  The spill designation was determined by CCWS on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, after receiving routine compliance sampling results. The effluent flow from the facility into Lake Allatoona was 7.04 million gallons and was disinfected.  The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has been notified and Cobb County Water System employees are following EPD protocols for such a discharge.

This has no impact on Cobb County’s drinking water system.