No fish or wildlife were damaged when a sewer line collapsed Thursday and sent nearly 2,000 gallons of sewage into Bull Creek, a Columbus Water Works official said Friday.
Jim Patterson, vice president of communications for the Water Works, said crews did not find any dead fish or wildlife after the pipe collapsed behind Bull Creek Apartments off Floyd Road and dumped 1,907 gallons of sewage into the creek. The creek area is a frequent spot for anglers.
Patterson said the line was quickly repaired and was returned to service. Heavy rains had washed out the creek bed beneath the 10-inch pipe, causing it to collapse.
Audra Dickson, a compliance specialist with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, said the spill wasn’t considered a major spill and no team was sent to Columbus to inspect the site. A major spill is considered one of 10,000 gallons or more.
Dickson said it is undetermined whether the Water Works will face any actions in connection with the spill.
“It’s under review,” Dickson said. “They stopped the spill, which is great.”
Bill Edwards, an advocate for the environment, said he’s concerned about children playing along the creek bed and getting fecal matter into open wounds and scratches.
“That stuff will collect in puddles at the edge of the creek,” Edwards said. “Once we get a rain, it will dilute enough of it.”
Heavy rainfall was blamed on an unusually high number of spills for this year, Patterson said. The Water Works normally experiences three to four spills a year but has reported 37 this year. The first spill was in February and 10 came in March when excessive rain plagued the city.
Columbus has received almost 60 inches of rainfall, 20 inches over the normal amount of rain for the year.
In addition to heavy rain, grease at Fort Benning contributed to four spills in the system the Water Works operates.
“This does not happen unless you get 16 inches of rain. That is a natural disaster event,” Patterson said of rainfall earlier this year. “Take that out and you have three to four a year.”
ContactBen Wrightat 706-571-8576.
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