Grease in manhole causes sewage overflow into Gwinnett creek tributary

Grease caused nearly 6,700 gallons of sewage to overflow from a manhole into a tributary of a Gwinnett County creek on Thursday.

The spill happened in Norcross, the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources said. The department was alerted to the spill at 10:57 a.m. Thursday and stopped the flow of sewage at 1:50 p.m. By then, 6,686 gallons of sewage had escaped and entered an unnamed tributary of Jackson Creek.

The department raked the area and spread lime in order to mitigate the effects of the spill. Signs were posted to alert residents to the spill and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was notified. Exposure to raw sewage generally poses the risk of diseases and infections including gastro-enteritis and E. coli.