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DEL.ICIO.USPraise flows freely for Clayton County’s water system
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
People from all over the country and the world have been coming to Clayton County —- to see how it’s leading the nation.
Yes, you read that right.
Contrary to all the troubling news that’s been coming out of Clayton these past many months, the county is receiving accolades for having one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly water systems in the country.
The Clayton County Water Treatment System has been on the cover of three trade magazines; National Public Radio has done a feature story on the system; and people from Australia, Asia and all over the country have come to Clayton to see firsthand what makes the county’s water treatment process so special.
“It is a model that people all over the world are wanting to emulate,” said Eldrin Bell, chairman of the Clayton County Commission, which appoints members of the Clayton County Water Authority. “It is one of the best-functioning water systems in the country.”
From an environmental point of view, Clayton has had a state-of-the-art water treatment process since 1980.
The water authority, with substantial help from the federal government, was able to acquire 4,000 acres of forest for a spray irrigation system. Treated wastewater is sprayed over the forest, and as the water is filtered through the soil, it undergoes a natural cleaning process.
“At the time, it was a brand new technology,” said Mike Thomas, general manager of the Clayton County Water Authority. “Some people had the foresight to do something different.”
That process, however, is extremely land-intensive. It takes between 150 to 250 acres to treat 1 million gallons of partially treated wastewater a day. As it was doing its 10-year plan about 10 years ago, the water authority knew the county would need additional capacity to accommodate growth.
So that’s when it decided to adopt another state-of-the-art water treatment system —- man-made wetlands.
“It’s a natural treatment system that does all the things that happen in nature,” Thomas said, explaining that the water is cleansed by the soil, plants and microbes that live in the wetlands. “We are taking wastewater and turning it into drinking water.”
A beauty of this system is that wetlands only take about 15 to 25 acres to treat a million gallons of water a day. By next year, the Clayton system will have about 400 acres of wetlands that will treat about 17 million gallons a day.
“We’ve identified future wetlands, and we are hoping to have 24 million gallons a day capacity,” Thomas said.
The most significant piece of this system is that Clayton is able to recycle its own water, which means it has not been vulnerable to the drought that the rest of the region experienced this past year. It’s also a lifesaver for Clayton, which has limited natural water supply from the Flint River.
“When everyone was suffering so much, our reservoir never fell below 77 percent of full,” Thomas said, compared to other reservoirs that dipped below 50 percent. “We always had at least 200 days of supply.”
Thomas took me on a drive to see the wetlands —- a haven for birds and wildlife —- and the full reservoir, a beautiful lake where residents can fish and have picnics.
The water authority also is saving money by having the wetlands do the work.
“At the peak, we had over 20,000 sprinklers and over 300 miles of piping to get that treated wastewater sprayed,” Thomas said. “We’ve gone from a staff of about 15 to seven. And our power bills have gone from about $30,000 a month to less than $10,000. It takes very little attention. And maintenance is so easy.”
No wonder Clayton’s system has become a model.
Could other parts of the Atlanta region replicate Clayton’s system?
“Yes,” Thomas said. “The core suburban counties could. But when you get within I-285, the land gets expensive.”
Metro Atlanta has a significant problem with having enough water for growth. Counties like Forsyth, Rockdale, Fayette and Henry could protect their future by taking the wetlands approach to wastewater treatment.
What’s even better is that the wetlands and the reservoirs become a green amenity for those communities.
Clayton also has another tremendous opportunity. In all, it has nearly 6,000 acres of forested land, most of which was used for the spray irrigation system. As the county shifts that water treatment to the wetlands, it will have a huge tract of land available to the public.
“What we’d like to see is green space with some kind of environmental park,” Thomas said. “The last thing we want to do is turn this into asphalt. It would be a great passive recreation area.”
Again, Clayton could become the envy of the region.
Those are strange words to say about a county that has been dealing with a dysfunctional public school system that’s facing a possible loss of accreditation; a county that has had a controversial sheriff who just got voted out of office come November. And just last week, the Bigfoot hoax was dreamed up by two men from Clayton County.
But the one constant throughout this period has been a cutting-edge water treatment system that is showing one path to a sustainable future, which Bell credited to a qualified water authority free of politics.
May the rest of our region follow Clayton’s lead as we try to solve our water issues.
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By Joey
August 26, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
Maria; I have toured Clayton’s facilites. I think they are great. Because of metals and chemicals, I am concerned about the long term viability of wetlands systems.
However I cannot help but think that if your article had been about Gwinnett, you would have chosen terms like “sewage treatment plant” and “treated sewage” rather than “state-of-the-art water treatment system” and “water” to describe the system and its effluent.