Three weeks after the most recent sewage spill into Lake Peachtree, officials of the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority await word from the state's Environmental Protection Division while looking to improve the response time in such situations.

About 20,000 gallons were sent into the lake June 3 when a wastewater pump failed.

EPD officials came to the site for an inspection right after the spill, according to WASA general manager Larry Turner. He expects to hear from the state again in the next couple of weeks.

Among the possible responses from the EPD is a consent order, which Turner says could include a fine and any of a number of recommendations.

Some changes are already in the works that would improve the Authority's ability to respond to spills and other problems, Turner said.

Installation is underway on a new SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system, which would use a radio signal to alert staff when there is a problem.

An operator is already on staff to monitor the system during the second and third shifts and respond quickly, said Turner. The current system contacts a security system, which in turn contacts the on-call WASA staff member who would handle the problem. The security system would be taken out of the loop under the SCADA plan, Turner said.

It was widely reported that a missing cellular phone contributed to the delay in communication with the WASA employee on call at the time of the spill. Turner confirmed that all employees now have their cell phones, and that is no longer a problem.

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