Sewage spill reported near Cobb County park area, repairs underway

MARIETTA, Ga. — Cobb County officials reported an overnight sewage spill near one of the county’s park areas.

According to the Cobb County Water System, a sewage spill had leaked into Sewell Mill Creek near East Cobb Park.

While the leak was closed and water diversion started around 1 a.m. Saturday, more than 100,000 gallons of untreated sewage was released.

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The leak began Friday night, according to the Water System, where a sewer line experienced a structural failure on Pimlico Court in Marietta.

The leak led to an overflow with a volume of about 152,750 gallons of sewage.

Work crews placed a bypass pump to alleviate overflow.

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Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco was at East Cobb Park, speaking with visitors about the spill.

Warning signs remain at the park, but some park visitors say they didn’t notice the signs.

“A lot of people play in the creek, I see a lot of parents bringing their kids down for the afternoon,” Theresa Collins, a park visitor, said. “They picnic right at the creek, we bring our dogs in the water at the creek, so yeah, lots of families come down and get in the creek every day.”

According to officials, the creek was flowing so it pushed the spill downstream, toward other counties.

County officials said crews stopped the overflow at around 12:45 a.m. Saturday, and repairs are underway.

News Drone 2 flew over what’s called bypass pumps. That’s what Cobb County Water System used Saturday to stop the sewage from flowing into the creek.

The creek flows into the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. That’s a spot that took a hit one week earlier.

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Wastewater flowed there from Fulton County’s Big Creek Water Reclamation Plant in Roswell. 15 miles of the river near that area remained closed to swimmers and boaters July 8.

“The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has been notified, and Cobb County Water System employees are following EPD protocols for such an event. Monitoring of bacteria levels in the creek is already underway,” officials said in a statement.

In the meantime, signs have been posted along the creek to warn residents away from exposure to the water.

Testing on the water quality is underway, but officials said it can take 24 hours or more before results are delivered.

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