Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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Wednesday, March 7, 2001 |
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Mechanical failure at pump station leads to small sewage spill in PTC By JOHN
MUNFORD
Two separate failures contributed to a minor sewage spill at a pump station near Lake Peachtree Sunday evening, authorities said. Approximately 1,000 gallons of raw sewage was discharged into the lake with the spill, according to estimates from the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority. The Fayette County Water System is not withdrawing water from the lake at this time, said WASA general manager Larry Turner. There was never any danger to the county water supply, said county Water System director Tony Parrott. "We weren't pumping out of Lake Peachtree at the time," he said. "Water demand is low this time of year," he added. The pump station suffered a mechanical failure when it failed to activate after reaching a certain level, Turner explained. That was due to a pressurized air line that developed a hole, which meant the pump couldn't be signaled to turn on, Turner said. The second failure occurred when the sensor at the pump station didn't send an alert through the computer system to warn WASA employees of the problem, Turner added. The spill was originally reported by a local resident, he added. The computer system monitors the status of each pump station. But in this case, the signal that would have been sent to the computer was "shorted out," Turner said. Once the problem was discovered, employees responded within 10 minutes to "take precautionary steps to minimize harm," according to a news release issued by WASA. Also, several agencies were notified, including the Fayette County Health Department, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the county Water System. The pump station is one of several that are being totally replaced for about $250,000, Turner reminded the WASA board at its regular monthly meeting Monday night. Hopefully, all that work will be completed by September, Turner added.
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