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Heavy rains produce PTC sewage spill, WASA reports

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Last week’s heavy rains are being blamed for a small sewage spill from a manhole in the Willowbend area near Peachtree City’s City Hall.

Larry Turner, general manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority, said the spill was estimated to be “a few hundred gallons” but nonetheless the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was notified.

The spill, which was discovered Friday, doesn’t meet the threshold of what EPD considers to be a “large spill” which requires a minimum of 10,000 gallons to be involved.

Turner, speaking at Monday night’s regular meeting of the authority, blamed the spill on stormwater entering the sewer system through holes in manhole covers.

“There was six to eight feet of water over the manhole” left by last Wednesday’s storm, Turner said.

Turner also informed WASA about a recurring issue with stormwater backing up into Peachtree City Presbyterian Church, which happened again after Monday morning’s rains. The trouble happens during rainstorms because the city’s stormwater system can’t handle the flow, Turner said.

Turner asserted that the problem is not a responsibility of the authority.

“It happened because the city’s storm sewer can’t handle the water,” Turner said.

The authority will be looking at getting special equipment for several manholes in the area that would restrict how much rainwater could flow into the system at any one time in hopes of preventing such problems in the future, Turner said.

WASA also unanimously approved a contract with Crawford Grading and Pipeline Inc. to perform sewer rehabilitation work in the area of Tinsley Mill Village. Crawford was the low bidder on the project with a price of $332,051, but that was over the original estimated of $243,355.

Only two companies submitted bids, but six companies were sent the bid’s specifications, Turner noted.

The project will replace 2,638 feet of sewer in the area, going from the Tinsley Mill condos and extending under Flat Creek Road to The Cloisters subdivision.

The authority also approved the final change order for improvements to the sewer operations buildings at the Rockaway and Line Creek sewage treatment plants. The changes resulted in an additional cost of $8,800, raising the final price to $429,351, Turner said.

The first change was necessary because the foundation on the Line Creek building was larger than first thought, and the other was due to the need to install a concrete vault instead of a standard manhole, Turner said.