MACON, Ga. — The Macon Water Authority may have a multi-million dollar solution to a multi-million-gallon problem.
In the last few weeks, the authority has reported six wastewater spills to the Environmental Protection Division. They say rain overwhelmed their Rocky Creek Treatment Plant and caused the problem.
Now, they say a plant expansion could be the answer.
"When heavy rain falls, it's going to go wherever it can, and sometimes, it makes its way into the sewer system," said Kate Kubesheski, MWA's wastewater operations director.
Chances are, if it makes it into the sewer system, it'll eventually get to one of their treatment plants like the Rocky Creek facility. It's exactly what happened six times starting March 3.
"When you work in waste treatment, you have no control over what comes to you. You have to deal with it as it's coming in," Kubesheski explained.
She says the excess rain about doubled the usual flow of the 28-million-gallon-a-day plant. While the water was still disinfected before it flowed out to the Ocmulgee River, silt and sand couldn't settle.
"What flows over the weirs of the settling tanks is what's eventually going to go out to the river," she said, describing a sort of skimmer in one of the tanks.
Michel Wanna, the authority's director of field and plant operations, says there is no threat to the river. He says the only parameter out of place was "total suspended solids" — the total number of solid items in the water.
That number was too high, prompting the authority's report to EPD. Kubesheski says test results for harmful bacteria have come up well below the maximum limit.
Wanna says the plans for expansion will add 10 million gallons to the plant's capacity.
"We have consultants that are working on the permit and the design, and we're even testing filters, piloting, that we need to see if they do the job," Wanna said.
Kubesheski says it should help to limit spills, but will also help give Macon's wastewater infrastructure room to grow.
Wanna says construction will take about 2.5 years after breaking ground. They're still in the planning phase.