Audit finds lagging maintenance needs threaten water quality

The good news: The $711 million spent upgrading some of the city’s sewer facilities has undoubtedly improved the water quality in Atlanta, decreasing average annual violations of federal standards by 65 percent.

The bad: Millions in neglected maintenance and trash clogging the systems continue to threaten that progress.

Those were the key findings in a report released last week by Atlanta’s City Auditor’s Office. The audit, which focused on just how well the city has complied with a 1998 federal order to improve its sewer system, found the Department of Watershed Management has racked up $25 million to $36 million in sewer maintenance needs in recent years.

Some of those problems have led to more water quality violations in Atlanta’s waterways.

Following a lawsuit filed by the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a federal judge signed a consent decree in 1998 directing the city to fix its “combined” system, in which the same pipes carried sewage and stormwater to a treatment center. Under the decree, stormwater and waste lines were separated in some of the system.

According to City Auditor Leslie Ward, maintenance delays occurred after the Watershed department largely completed that work in 2008. The department then turned its sights and finances to a second EPA decree concerning upgrades to the “sanitary” lines, which carry only raw sewage.

As Watershed officials worked to carry out the second federal decree, the previously repaired facilities suffered broken equipment and leaking tanks, leading to violations.

“During the period after combined sewer overflow facilities were completed the department moved with great priority and great emphasis to the (second) consent decree,” Ward said. “As a result the maintenance spending was quite low.”

Watershed officials have accepted all five of the auditor’s recommendations, which are:

• Develop a budget for future maintenance costs
• Create a schedule for cleaning the basins that capture debris on streets
• Determine whether a mix of basin cleaning and street sweeping would reduce pollutants in the sewer system
• Study whether more street sweeping would reduce the need for frequent basin cleaning and
• Continue to educate people about trash disposal and recycling.

“There were no surprises,” said Watershed Commissioner Jo Ann Macrina, noting the department worked closely with the auditor’s office for the report. “We were pleased with the findings and are in complete agreement, so the next steps are to implement the recommendations.”

Frank Stephens, a Watershed deputy, noted work to repair the facilities is already underway. The Atlanta City Council recently approved $3 million to design repairs for the systems. The department estimates the fixes will cost between $35 million and $40 million over the next three years.