2 more sewage spills hit river

Torrential rain in late March caused two more major raw sewage spills into the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, bringing the total to more than 2 million gallons this year.

That’s enough to fill nearly four Olympic-size pools.

Fulton County reported overflows of 286,187 gallons on March 27 and 840,576 gallons on March 29.

State environmental regulators are still calculating fines for two earlier spills that totaled 981,000 gallons.

Fulton is spending about $40 million to stop the overflows by fixing a leaky pipe and upgrading pump stations and a sewage-treatment plant. The work should be finished by the end of 2012, county officials said.

The spills occur when rain swells the river, causing it to top its banks at Riverside Park along Azalea Drive. Water inundates the pipe and pump station carrying sewage from Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Roswell.

Metro Atlanta’s historic drought had been the best temporary solution to the sewage overflows. Fulton reported only one other major spill from the Azalea Drive pipeline between 2005, when the state ordered the fix, and this year. Since early January, as winter rains began to pick up, the county has reported four major spills.

Marzieh Shahbazaz, a regulator with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, said overflows will continue until the county finishes its work. Since the spills occur when the river is carrying a lot of water, environmental damage is mitigated, she said.

 ELIZABETH LANDT / Staff 
Map locates site of chronic sewage spills; 2 million gallons this year, in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. Inset map outlines area of detail in Fulton County.