Relief may soon be on the way for some very thirsty baseball and soccer fields in Peachtree City.

A proposal to irrigate those fields with treated sewage was approved unanimously by the City Council Thursday night. The fields at the city’s Baseball and Soccer Complex on Ga. Highway 74 South have remained dry since the state’s outdoor watering ban was enacted, but reclaimed wastewater is still allowed to be used for irrigation purposes.

Local environmentalist Dennis Chase said the city will have to take some precautions to make sure viruses are eliminated from the treated wastewater. If not, baseball and soccer players — especially those with cuts on their body — could face a health risk, Chase said.

The viruses can be killed by remaining in open water for four to five days, and that could be possible if the water is filtered through a wetland area, Chase said.

Randy Gaddo, the city’s director of leisure services, said he thought the city owned enough land on the site to implement a system like Chase suggested.

Gaddo said the soccer and baseball associations wanted to irrigate the fields in part for weed control to create a safer playing environment with less chance of tripping and potentially serious injuries.

Peachtree City is already using treated wastewater to irrigate the Planterra Ridge golf course.

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