Atlanta airport spills an estimated 33,000 gallons of sewage near Sullivan Creek
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport spilled an estimated 33,000 gallons of sanitary sewage into a wooded area next to Sullivan Creek, one of the Flint River’s tributaries, the airport announced Thursday.
The spill occurred Wednesday at a sanitary sewer lift station near the west end of Runway 10-28. A neutralizing agent was applied to the ground affected by the spill and lift station operations resumed about 90 minutes after the spill, according to the airport.
The cause of the spill is under investigation, downstream water quality is being monitored, and the airport said it “is working with state and local partners to mitigate the impact of the spill.”
This is the latest in a series of spills of fuel, sewage and other substances from the airport affecting the Flint River and two of the waterways that feed it, Sullivan Creek and Mud Creek. The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Flint Riverkeeper sent a letter to city officials in July threatening to sue over the pollution. The Flint provides drinking water to more than 400,000 people downstream of the airport.
The Flint Riverkeeper did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
From 2010 to 2020, at least 13 sanitary sewage spills occurred from Hartsfield-Jackson. Ten of them were into Sullivan Creek, including two that killed fish.
In 2023, approximately 22,000 gallons of sewage from the airport again spilled into Sullivan Creek.
In January this year, a jet fuel spill at the Atlanta airport released an estimated 10,000 gallons from a fuel pipeline into the stormwater system and the Flint River, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The SELC said in its July letter there had also been major fuel spills in April and over Memorial Day weekend.