HCWA addresses sewer overflows following Hurricane Helene

HCWA addresses sewer overflows following Hurricane Helene

As rainfall totals reached 10 inches across parts of Georgia in the wake of Hurricane Helene last month, the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) was not immune to the impact of this unprecedented storm, which caused major flooding, power outage, and sewer overflows.

Even with the strain of continuous and significant rainfall on the water/sewer system, the Authority experienced no interruption of services during this severe weather event. However, because of the high volume of rain that fell within a short time, HCWA water professionals had to work overtime to address several issues that threatened the integrity of the system and the delivery of water and sewer services.

The greatest concern for Authority officials during the hurricane were reports from HCWA field technicians of severe flooding and inflow of storm water into the system, which significantly impacted sewer lines, sewer lift stations, and wastewater treatment plant operations. As a result, Authority officials reported four sewer overflows, including one major overflow of more than 1 million gallons at the Big Cotton Indian Lift Station on Crumbley Road in McDonough.

The Big Cotton Indian Lift Station was impacted when combined storm water and wastewater overflowed from a manhole and flowed out of the facility and into Big Cotton Indian Creek. This lift station is one of the largest in the HCWA sewer system, collecting sanitary sewage from approximately 20 percent of the county's land mass. During a run-time of approximately 9 hours, the inflow of storm water had exceeded the capacity of all five pumps at the Big Cotton Indian Lift Station, causing an estimated 1.05 million gallons of combined storm water and untreated wastewater to enter Big Cotton Indian Creek.

As a result of the Big Cotton Indian Creek overflow, the site was cleaned, treated with lime, and posted with appropriate signs. The HCWA will continue to conduct water quality sampling and testing at this site for an entire year, to assure its water quality has returned to safe levels. There was no expected threat to public health during or after this incident.

In addition to the sewer overflow at the Big Cotton Indian Creek Lift Station, the HCWA also experienced minor overflows from the inflow of storm water at a manhole on King Boulevard in McDonough, as well as a blocked sewer line serving Mandalay, Somerset, Canyon Springs, and Town Center Village off Jonesboro Road, and a failed sewer line on Work Camp Road. According to Authority officials, these incidents were reported to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), as is standard procedure regarding sanitary sewer overflows.

"All in all, our system fared pretty well compared to others, and we were able to handle all of these issues without any major disruption of services," says Tara Brown, HCWA Director of Strategic Planning. "We have a great team of folks who were prepared and who have experience in how to respond to these types of natural disasters."

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Media contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.

P: 770-757-1681

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