For the second time in just over a month, city officials are reporting a wastewater spill from the Douglas water treatment facility.
This latest accident occurred Tuesday, March 17 and, according to officials, an estimated 6,750 gallons of wastewater was spilled into an unnamed tributary leading to the Seventeen Mile River.
“This is not considered a major spill and no testing is required,” officials said. ” However, due to the water reaching a creek, we must report it to the local media. The root cause was a complete power failure at one of our 18 lift stations.”
City wastewater facility representatives issued a press release stating, “On March 17th, 2015, the City of Douglas experienced a tripped power breaker at a lift station at the east end of the wastewater treatment plant. The temporary loss of power resulted in the surcharging of wastewater from a nearby manhole. Upon discovering the problem, immediate action was taken to remedy the situation and power was restored to the lift station. The site was then cleaned and lime was applied to the affected areas.
All reporting requirements are being followed. The volume of the minor spill was 6,750 gallons. The receiving stream is an un-named tributary to the Seventeen Mile River which flows from the plant through a city-owned restricted-access impoundment and then crosses under Wendell Sears Road and then Clyde Kirkland Road before its convergence with the Seventeen Mile River.”
Approximately 4.4 million gallons of wastewater from the facility was spilled last month on Feb. 8.