{"id":8177,"date":"2014-03-20T11:59:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T15:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=8177"},"modified":"2014-03-20T12:08:47","modified_gmt":"2014-03-20T16:08:47","slug":"valdosta-sewage-pr-reaches-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/valdosta-sewage-pr-reaches-florida.html","title":{"rendered":"Valdosta sewage PR reaches Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n<\/a>\r\nValdosta sure has an effective PR mechanism,\r\nfamous all the way to Florida again,\r\n\r\nfor the second time this month<\/a>.\r\nMost cities wouldn’t think\r\n\r\nto dump stuff into the river<\/a> to get in the news!\r\nBut Valdosta buried the solution at the end of\r\n\r\na traditional press release<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“The city has planned, designed and bid a force main project and\r\nwill award a $32 million contract in May that will prevent the\r\nmajority of these overflows from occurring in the future.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThat would be one of the projects Valdosta will use the\r\n$36.7 million GEFA loan<\/a> to fund.\r\nOther projects are related to the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), which wasn’t the culprit this time.\r\nThis sewer spill came from manholes overflowing.\r\n

\r\nWinnie Wright wrote for WCTV yesterday,\r\n\r\nOver 1 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Spills Into Local Waterways<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe Florida Department of Public Health is warning residents to\r\navoid contact with water from the Withlacoochee River.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe warning comes after the City of Valdosta reported contamination\r\nof stormwater with wastewater during this weeks’ storms.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe water will flow downstream and continue to impact other\r\ncommunities on the Withlachoochee River.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“We got so much rain in a short period of time, it doesn’t have time\r\nto percolate into the ground, and so it’s just standing water,” said\r\nHenry Hicks, Utilities Director for the City of Valdosta.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe City of Valdosta has reported that over one million gallons of\r\nuntreated wastewater has spilled into local waterways and onto local\r\nstreets. The stormwater and sewage combination was overflowing from\r\nseveral manholes yesterday in local neighborhoods.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“That causes a lot of water to infiltrate and flow into the sewer\r\nsystem which is not designed to handle that water. So, that’s why we\r\nhave the overflows occurring right now, because of that large amount\r\nof rain in a short period,” said Hicks.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\nFlorida Health<\/a>‘s own\r\n\r\nwebsite link to their PR<\/a> is broken, but\r\nthe link on their twitter feed works:\r\n\r\nFLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ADVISES OF POSSIBLE WASTEWATER CONTAMINATION:\r\n~Wastewater overflow from Valdosta, GA may impact Withlacoochee River~<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nTALLAHASSEE- The Florida Department of Health today issued an\r\nadvisory to residents in counties surrounding the Withlacoochee\r\nriver. The City of Valdosta has reported a spill, made up of a\r\ncombination of storm water and untreated sewage that has overflowed\r\ninto One-Mile Branch, Two-Mile Branch, Sugar Creek and Cherry Creek\r\nwhich flow into the Withlacoochee River.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nUntil further information is known regarding possible contamination\r\nof the rivers, residents are urged to take precautions when in\r\ncontact with the Withlacoochee River. This includes those\r\nindividuals in the counties of Hamilton and Madison.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWater contaminated by wastewater overflow presents several health\r\nhazards to humans and may contain untreated human sewage with\r\nmicrobes that could cause gastro-intestinal and other diseases.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nAnyone who comes in contact with the river water should wash\r\nthoroughly, especially before eating or drinking. Children and older\r\nadults, as well as people with weakened immune systems, are\r\nparticularly vulnerable to disease so every precaution should be\r\ntaken if in contact with the river water.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nFor more information about the potential health effects of\r\nwastewater overflow, Floridians are encouraged to contact their\r\nlocal county health department. To find contact information for your\r\ncounty health department, please visit www.floridahealth.gov.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nFollow us on Twitter at\r\n\r\n@HealthyFla<\/a> and on\r\n\r\nFacebook<\/a>. The Department\r\nprotects, promotes and improves the health of all people in Florida\r\nthrough integrated state, county and community efforts.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nColter Anstaett wrote for WALB yesterday,\r\n\r\nValdosta sewer leakage causing concern in Florida<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe city released this statement in response to the Florida\r\nDepartment of Health’s warning:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“The city is very sensitive to the effects of the recent overflows\r\non the environment and neighboring, downstream communities. During\r\nthis major rain event, the city’s wastewater treatment plant\r\nremained in compliance; however, several manholes inside the city\r\nlimits overflowed. All overflows have now ceased, and clean-up is\r\nunderway. The city has planned, designed and bid a force main\r\nproject and will award a $32 million contract in May that will\r\nprevent the majority of these overflows from occurring in the\r\nfuture.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nValdosta also put out this News Release yesterday, with the solution buried at the end,\r\n\r\nCity Reports All Manhole Overflows Have Ceased<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe City of Valdosta has reported that all manhole overflows that occurred since March 17 have stopped. The inflow and infiltration of stormwater into the city\u2019s wastewater collection system resulted from the combined heavy rain fall since last weekend, completely saturated soils and abnormally high ground water tables. This influx of water caused the carrying capacity of the sewer line to be exceeded and resulted in sewer overflows at several manholes in the city. <\/p>\r\n

Below are the calculated totals for all manhole overflows in the city since Monday, March 17. (Note: These are total amounts from ALL overflows resulting from this week\u2019s event and include amounts already reported in a March 18 press release<\/b>): <\/p>\r\n