Over the weekend, the City of Douglas released a statement clarifying the nature of the wastewater spill it announced on Friday. Apparently, the city received numerous calls regarding whether or not city drinking water was safe. The city assures everyone that the “unnamed tributary” of the Seventeen Mile River that received the wastewater has no effect on drinking water. The statement, however, didn’t say what effect the wastewater spill may have on the Seventeen Mile River itself.
Here is the city’s statement in its entirety:
The City of Douglas Utilities has received numerous calls from citizens inquiring about potential contamination and the quality of our drinking water. We would like to address those concerns, so that our customers won’t be alarmed and relate what may be happening in the news with other cities.
Mike Hudson, Director of Douglas Utilities, releases the following statement: “We assure citizens that the City of Douglas does not have any issues of contamination in our public water supply. On yesterday, Friday, June 9, 2017, we did release a press release about a wastewater spill that occurred at our Wastewater Treatment Facility located on Iron Rd. It is protocol that we notify the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and our citizens of any spills. This spill only impacts the unnamed tributary that navigates through the Wastewater Treatment Facility and eventually, that tributary dumps into the Seventeen Mile River and has no bearing on our drinking water system, in any degree, that goes into the homes and businesses of our customers.”
The City of Douglas understands the concern other news reports have caused to our citizens, in conjunction with the release from yesterday. It is our hope that this statement provides clarity and assurance to our customers that our drinking water is safe and is not contaminated. Our annual Water Quality Report can be view on our website. For update to date news about any service of the City of Douglas, please visit our website or follow us on social media.
We apologize for any confusion and if there are any further questions please contact Utilities Director Michael Hudson at 912-393-4709 or ESG Project Manager Kevin Davis at 912-327-2845.