CLARKSTON, Ga. — Neighbors crowded the Clarkston City Hall on Thursday night to get answers about a serious sewage spill.
Representatives from DeKalb County and the Department of Watershed Management addressed concerns about the cleanup and public health after a massive sewage leak spilled into a neighborhood pond.
The spill killed several fish in the water, leaving many neighbors with concerns over the affects the spill could have on their neighborhood.
Anstey Bates was just one of dozens of residents who wanted answers about the spill in Snapfinger Creeks.
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“This is the third time that we have had this spill right in my backyard,” Bates said.
He told Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez that his family has lived in the neighborhood along Cleavemark Drive for 20 years.
He admitted that when he walked into Thursday’s meeting he was fuming because this has happened a third time.
Two hours later, Bates and the president of the Clarkston Shores Homeowners Association told Jaquez that they felt a sense of relief.
“The efforts they’re proposing to put in place to help that, will help,” Bates said.
He wasn’t alone.
“I’m very pleased with this meeting,” resident Robert Winfrey said.
Residents told Jaquez they were pleased that DeKalb County Watershed Management officials and the city’s mayor were being proactive about the cleanup.
County officials said one of the causes of the sewer break was residents pouring grease down their drains and flushing diapers and baby wipes down their toilets. Those things combined to cause a blockage in the sewage system on Sunday.
“We have cleaned the water but now we are aerating the water and (we) placed a pump that turns the water over to put the oxygen back into the lake,” an official with the department told Jaquez.
“I think we got a lot accomplished tonight,” Bates said.
Cox Media Group
