Broken sewage line sends waste through UGA campus

By Alyse Knorr

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A crew from the Athens-Clark Public Utilities Department resumed repairs today on a broken 18-inch sewer line that sent raw sewage coursing through the University of Georgia campus Monday.

The crew worked into Monday evening to contain the wastewater flowing into Tanyard Creek, which flows beside the Tate Student Center and underneath Sanford Stadium before emptying into the North Oconee River.

Public Utilities Director Gary Duck said his office received a call about a sewer odor at about 1 p.m. Monday.

The crew was hoping to be able to replace about 10 feet of the old, clay line, Duck said, but when workers began digging they found a crack in an adjacent pipe, forcing them to remove close to 20 feet of pipe.

Workers could not complete repairs last night before dark; instead, they built a temporary dam to prevent more sewer waste from spilling into the creek. The crew is making final repairs today, and Duck said he expects them to be finished by lunchtime.

The sewer line broke upstream from the main campus in a section of UGA-owned land above the Tate Student Center.

The leak was caused when a fallen tree exposed some of the pipe to erosion that eventually caused the pipe to collapse and crack, Duck said.

“This pipe is one of the older sections of line that we have in the system, however it’s also been a very reliable line,” Duck said. “We have not had any problems with that section of the line that I’m aware of in the past.”

Workers are calculating the volume of raw sewage spilled to determine whether the leak classifies as a major spill by state Environmental Protection Division standards, which deem leaks of 10,000 gallons or more major spills, Duck said.

The Public Utilities Department will also be required to monitor the creek for the next six months, Duck said.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.