Friday, January 25, 2002
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Friday, January 25, 2002 |
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South water treatment plant back on after contamination scare last week By JOHN
MUNFORD
With the latest round of tests on Fayette County water showing no contaminants, officials have begun to draw water out of the Flint River again. "The water continues to be safe," said Tony Parrott, director of the Fayette County Water System. "Even though we had some problems, at no time did the water exceed the health advisories or the Department of Natural Resources' rules and regulations." Last week, the county's South Water Treatment Plant was shut down over concerns of contaminated water. Residents in south Fayette County, including Peachtree City, had reported a sweet smell to their water. In one of three samples originally sent for testing, a "trace" of ethylene glycol was found, said Bert Langley, director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's emergency response program. Since then, five more samples from Fayette came back with no detectable levels of any contaminants. State environmental officials are investigating a reported spill of a de-icing chemical at Hartsfield International Airport that may be responsible for contaminating the water via the Flint River, which is a main water source for Fayette County. "We want to know how it happened and why it happened so it won't happen again," Langley said. The chemical is also found in antifreeze, which means it can also enter streams whenever rainwater drains off the roadway, Langley said. Hartsfield officials reported that 250 gallons of the de-icing chemical spilled into the Flint River from its stormwater drainage system Jan. 3, Langley said. The Fayette County Water System draws water from the Flint River to providing drinking water for the county. Parrott said officials closed the plant although they were not required to by state regulations. Clayton County, which also pumps water out of the Flint River, continued to do so but Fayette officials decided to draw more water out of the Crosstown Road water treatment plant. That increased the load on the Crosstown plant by between 4 and 5 million gallons per day, depending on the demand, Parrott said. "Even though we have been criticized, everything we have done is in excess of what the requirements are," Parrott said. "We wish it wouldn't have happened..." Demand has been down this week due to rain the area has received, he added. Local water officials received about 50 complaints of the smelly water last week. The decision was made Tuesday to shut down the south water treatment plant that draws water from the Flint River. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ethylene glycol when ingested in large amounts can result in nausea, convulsions, slurred speech, disorientation, and heart and kidney problems. Ingesting very large amounts can result in death, according to the agency. EPD planned to re-test the sample that showed the "trace" levels of ethylene glycol to make sure the results were valid, according to Gary Andrews of the agency's emergency response program.
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