COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Georgia conservation group is issuing a water quality alert after it found signs of potential sewage along a portion of the Chattahoochee River.
The Chattahoochee River Keeper posted about the issue on Facebook Wednesday.
According to the group, it has been collecting water samples from the Phenix City's wastewater treatment plant in Alabama, right across the Georgia-Alabama state line near Columbus.
The group said it is seeing signs of "undertreated sewage" flowing from the plant into the Chattahoochee River along the state line, and testing has confirmed spikes in E. coli bacteria levels in the river immediately downstream of Phenix City and Columbus.
The group is now warning river-goers to "exercise caution" downstream of the plant while the risk of harmful bacteria exposure is high. The group said water quality is not impacted in the whitewater course upstream of the plant.
Those on the river are encouraged to do the following:
- Avoid fully submerging underwater
- Wash hands after contacting the water
- Use particular caution with young children, the elderly and the immunocompromised
The Chattahoochee River Keeper said it would provide updates as it continues to monitor the outfall from the Alabama plant and others in the Chattahoochee River Basin.
The new alert comes just a few months after the Chattahoochee River Keeper issued an alert earlier this year for a different part of the river.
Back in March, the Chattahoochee River Keeper sent an alert advising people to avoid the downstream of Atlanta’s R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center. The center treats a significant portion of Atlanta’s wastewater, and the river keeper noted high levels of E.coli were found in the river at the time. The city's water supply was never compromised.
Just last week, the City of Atlanta agreed to pay a $163,000 settlement after state officials said the water plant fouled the river more than 69 times in one year.