At least 18 sewer spills reported in DeKalb after Thursday’s rain

At least 18 sewer spills were reported in DeKalb County on Thursday, as the remnants of Hurricane Sally dumped several inches of rain on the metro Atlanta area.

Initial spill reports did not provide information about potential volume. Many of the incidents were at regular trouble spots, including a location on Meadow Creek Path near Lithonia that saw two multimillion gallon spills earlier this year.

DeKalb’s aging infrastructure often has issues when heavy rain infiltrates the wastewater system through cracked pipes and other defects. The sudden influx of rainwater overwhelms the pipes, pushing untreated sewage — including human waste — out of manholes and other structures.

The sewage often ends up in local waterways, where it can present public health and ecological dangers by spreading bacteria like E.coli.

DeKalb County has been under a consent decree with state and federal environmental regulators since 2011, ordered to repair its long-neglected wastewater system, reduce spills and comply with the federal Clean Water Act.

While efforts have sped up under current CEO Michael Thurmond, previous years of mismanagement and corruption left the county way behind schedule. The consent decree’s original deadline passed in June, and the arrangement is currently being renegotiated.

Details of a modified consent decree could be made public next month.