Notice of Outfall Spill from the Cobb County Water System’s Northwest Water Reclamation Facility

On July 1, the Cobb County Water System’s Northwest Water Reclamation Facility released treated wastewater that did not fully meet the facility’s standards.

Cobb County Water System’s Northwest Water Reclamation Facility is permitted by Georgia Environmental Protection Division to treat 12 million gallons of wastewater daily. Once treated, the water is released into Lake Allatoona and routinely tested. EPD classifies the release of treated wastewater that doesn’t meet certain standards as a “spill.”

This designation was determined by CCWS on July 2 after receiving routine compliance sampling results. CCWS previously reported spill conditions on June 26 and July 1.

Operations staff continue investigating the cause of plant process anomalies and are making necessary adjustments to ensure compliance with the discharge permit. The effluent flow from the facility into Lake Allatoona was 5.68 million gallons on July 1. The effluent was disinfected and will not impact drinking water supplies.

CCWS employees followed EPD protocols by promptly reporting the sampling results and are conducting daily water quality testing upstream and downstream of the effluent discharge location in Lake Allatoona. Testing results indicate no impact to the lake. No cleanup or remediation is required.