Chattahoochee Riverkeeper threatens Atlanta with Clean Water Act lawsuit

The environmental advocacy group that helped force City Hall to fix its neglected sewer pipes decades ago is threatening to take Atlanta back to federal court.

Why it matters: The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper said city officials have 60 days to stop discharging poorly treated sewage from its wastewater plants into the waterway.

• If not, they and their legal representation, the Southern Environmental Law Center, will sue Atlanta for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act.

The latest: In a letter to Mayor Andre Dickens and Department of Watershed commissioner Al Wiggins, Jr., the SELC's Hutton Brown said the city's South River, Utoy Creek and R.M. Clayton plants have been discharging dangerous amounts of poorly treated wastewater.

• The city has exceeded levels of phosphorus, ammonia and others 56 times during the past 17 months, Brown alleges.

Zoom in: In March, Riverkeeper staff tracked elevated levels of E. coli at the R.M. Clayton facility off Bolton Road, the group said in a press release.

• Subsequent testing found E. coli levels on average were 340 times higher than the EPA's recommended limits for safe water recreation.
• The city initially attributed the spike to heavy storms and "discharges of illicit substances," according to the Riverkeeper, which said it pushed watershed officials to prioritize repairs.

Yes, but: Since then and as recently as June 6, the group said, bacteria levels have continued to spike.

The big picture: E. coli can cause serious infections in people, especially children and seniors and people with compromised immune systems. Other pollutants can lower oxygen counts, which in turn can harm aquatic life.

The other side: In a letter to the Riverkeeper sent Tuesday, the AJC reports , Wiggins recommended the city and advocates find a solution together and avoid the courts.

Caveat: The spills are related to the city's wastewater system, not the water main breaks that shut down parts of the city in late May and early June.

Flashback: Under founding director Sally Bethea, the group successfully sued the city in 1995 over regular spills into the Chattahoochee.

• A federal judge ordered Atlanta to overhaul the poorly maintained and antiquated sewer system. Much of the improvements are funded by a one-cent sales tax which voters recently renewed.

Go deeper: "Dirty Dozen" waterways on the brink