E. coli levels in the Chattahoochee downstream from the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center have dropped back within acceptable limits, days after a release of inadequately treated waste water sent the fecal bacteria surging, according to the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
“We’re starting to see some lower levels ourselves from whatever improvements Watershed is doing at the plant,” said Jason Ulseth, executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
As of Monday, E. coli levels from Riverkeeper’s water tests had fallen back within federal safety limits, he said. Riverkeepers will keep monitoring at least daily, he said.
“The Department of Watershed Management was conducting corrective and preventive maintenance on equipment throughout the plant,” an agency spokesperson said.
Work was underway on several secondary clarifiers, which remove additional pollutants that get through the primary water treatment, according to the spokesperson. The Atlanta DWM brought in eight mobile clarifiers to help, and added more disinfectant, the agency said.
“As confirmed previously, there was no sewer spill at the RM Clayton Water Reclamation Center, and the facility has remained operational and online,” a Monday afternoon announcement from Atlanta DWM Commissioner Mikita Browning said.
Riverkeepers sounded the alarm last week, urging people to stay out of the water for miles downstream of the plant. Riverkeepers’ daily testing between March 4 and March 13 showed extreme levels of E. coli, which the group reported to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
And that wasn’t the first time, Ulseth said.
“We were seeing high levels in the Chattahoochee River for several weeks,” he said. E. coli levels in the river showed “anomalies” in late January, Ulseth said.
“It wasn’t a huge red flag at first,” he said.
But levels steadily got worse until they became a major problem, Ulseth said. The excess was traced back to the plant, but Atlanta DWM didn’t share its daily internal test results with Riverkeeper, Ulseth said.
The Atlanta DWM spokesperson didn’t answer why Riverkeepers detected and announced the E. coli release first. The plant does monitor E. coli levels daily, and takes “necessary and prompt actions” in conjunction with Georgia EPD if they’re high, they said.
Reports go to Georgia EPD weekly and monthly, the spokesperson said.
“We also informed the EPD about the corrective measures taken to address the clarifiers,” they said.
The Clayton plant at 2440 Bolton Road NW treats Atlanta’s sewage. The city’s water treatment system is separate from Fulton County’s.
Guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say E. coli concentrations below 126 units per 100 milliliters of water are safe for swimming and other recreation. Ulseth said that while it appears the plant’s treatment processes are removing larger solids, the Riverkeeper has found concentrations of the fecal bacteria around the facility’s outfall that are north of 120,000 units per 100 milliliters.
AJC reporter Drew Kann contributed to this story.
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