For the third time this year, the city has experienced a wastewater spill at the water treatment plant. Thursday afternoon, the city released a statement announcing the spill. It’s the largest spill this year (but not the largest the city has experienced). This spill involved 720,000 gallons and occurred at 6 p.m. on Aug. 23.
The largest such spill took place in early 2015 when 4.4 million gallons flowed in the Seventeen Mile River.
The city’s statement reads as follows: “The City of Douglas Wastewater Collections System experienced a major spill of wastewater, which occurred directly into the Seventeen Mile River, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 at approximately 6 p.m. The sanitary sewer overflow, of approximately 720,000 gallons, occurred from a lift station, located on Ridge Lane. The cause of the wastewater spill was an improper drive setting in conjunction with a faulty alarm float during upgrades to the lift station.
“As a precaution, it is recommended that people do not have any contact with the affected stream water until after September 7, 2017. Samplings of the waterway, both upstream and downstream, will be conducted to ensure that the water quality has not been adversely affected.
“Samplings will consist of tests to detect dissolved oxygen concentration, fecal coliform bacteria, pH, and temperature. For more information, please contact Kevin Davis, Project Manager 912-389-3444.”