MARIETTA, Georgia — On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, and Wednesday, May 22, 2024, Cobb County Water System’s Northwest Water Reclamation Facility released treated wastewater that did not fully meet the facility’s standards.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division classifies the release of wastewater that doesn’t meet applicable standards as a “spill.” This designation was determined by CCWS on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, after receiving routine compliance sampling results.
CCWS operations staff are investigating the cause but report that the plant is operating normally. The effluent flow from the facility into Lake Allatoona was 6.46 million gallons on May 21, 2024, and 5.70 million gallons on May 22, 2024. The effluent was disinfected and will not impact drinking water supplies.
CCWS employees followed EPD protocols by promptly reporting the sampling results and have begun water quality testing upstream and downstream of the effluent discharge location in Lake Allatoona.