In her email newsletter Cobb County District 4 Commissioner Lisa Cupid posted an update on the emergency repairs to correct the South Cobb Water Reclamation facility failure.

She wrote:

Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce toured the South Cobb Water Reclamation Facility to get a firsthand look at the emergency repairs underway. A mysterious failure in a tunnel connecting the South Cobb Tunnel to the water plant flooded a lift station. That flood caused the plant’s pumps and backup pumps to shut down.

“Our first priority is to protect our people and the environment,” said Cobb Chairman Mike Boyce. “Before we start investigating the cause let’s take care of the level of the wastewater in the well right now, let’s take care of the water in the system that’s overflowing into the environment, then we can find out what happened and address that problem later.”

Boyce promised any county resources necessary to attack the problem. Crews have been on scene around the clock bringing in pumps to clear water out of the damaged portion of the lift station. The water system signed an emergency contract with Archer Western Construction to bring in more resources this weekend. The additional pumps should relieve pressure on the system and stop the overflow.

The failure has caused a mixture of runoff, creek water, and wastewater to overflow into the Nickajack Creek. Crews have been stationed near the creek to keep people away, and the county has been working with state EPD officials. This situation does NOT involve the county’s drinking water supply, which comes from a different system.

The South Cobb Water Reclamation Facility

According to the Cobb County website, “South Cobb WRF is one of the four water reclamation facilities of the Cobb County Water System. At this facility, we process daily at a capacity of 40 million gallons of wastewater generated by the South Cobb, portions of West Cobb, Austell, Powder Springs and Mableton areas. We strive our best to treat wastewater while meeting all treatment compliance.”