Cobb County distributed the following notice of a spill of 5.72 million gallons of disinfected wastewater from the Cobb County Water System’s (CCWS) Northwest Water Reclamation Facility into Lake Allatoona:
“On Thursday, November 17, 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, November 23, 2022, after receiving routine compliance sampling results. The effluent flow from the facility into Lake Allatoona was 5.72 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.“
Previous spill last May
On April 28 of this year a spill a similar spill occurred at the same facility that dumped 7 million gallons of wastewater into Lake Allatoona. It also reportedly had no impact on the drinking water supply.
About the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility
The county website describes the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility as follows:
“The Northwest Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) is an award-winning wastewater treatment facility located in Kennesaw. It is situated in the northwest corner of the county near Proctor Creek and provides advanced treatment to wastewater generated in the northwest quadrant of unincorporated Cobb County; the cities of Acworth and Kennesaw; and portions of Bartow, Cherokee, and Paulding counties.
“The facility reclaims wastewater, producing reuse-quality water that is either discharged to Lake Allatoona through an underwater diffuser or provided to several urban reuse customers for irrigation purposes.
“Originally built in 1987, the plant was sized to treat 2 million gallons per day (mgd), then upsized to 4 mgd in 1988. In 1997, the plant capacity was doubled, to a capacity of 8 mgd. The facility was again expanded in 2008, with an expanded capacity of 12 mgd.”
