A city Vactor truck, used to clean sewer lines, spilled 1,200 gallons of sewage this afternoon, and staff already have cleaned and treated it.
The spill happened just after 1 p.m. today, after a crew cleaned the Country Club Terrace lift station. The truck was about half full, and the sewage pushed open the dump gate, spilling out. Staff thought the dump gate was locked, but determined it actually was frozen.
The spill ran into a storm retention pond in the middle of Country Club Terrace, east of Riverside Drive.
Within 15 minutes, staff recovered much of the lost sewage, and treated the area with granular chlorine – this also is used to sanitize swimming pools, and is the typical treatment for such a spill.
Staff do not anticipate any impact to customers from the spill, nor from the chlorine application. As is the practice following a spill, staff are in the process of notifying the state Department of Environmental Quality, and the Calhoun County Public Health Department.