Just after 3 p.m. Friday, the city of Hinesville told residents they could return to normal indoor water usage. Water customers had been asked to limit water use on Thursday after damage was reported at the main station that pumps sewage to the Hinesville-Fort Stewart wastewater treatment facility.
“The city of Hinesville’s main waste water pump station is partially restored. Hinesville water customers may return to normal indoor water usage,” city spokeswoman Krystal Britton said. “Currently, we are still working on additional repairs and replacements; however, residents may return to normal indoor water usage habits.”
A sewer break was first reported at about 10 a.m. Thursday and the city requested that residents and businesses cut water use and the amount of liquids dumped into drains. Water coming out of taps was never contaminated, according to Britton, who said a bypass system was implemented while the pumps were being repaired.
When the pumps at the main station went down, sewage spilled into Peacock Creek, which runs passed Lewis Frasier Road, according to Scott Southwick, an environmental engineer with the Georgia Environmental Protection Department in Savannah. The EPD classified the incident as a major spill, which means more than 10,000 gallons of sewage leaked out.
Because of the size of the spill, the city of Hinesville is required to keep tabs on the creek for awhile. “They will have to do stream monitoring,” Southwick said. “They will monitor upstream for the spill, and monitor the stream downstream of the spill so we can determine if there are any health hazards to natural (wild) life and make whatever kinds of corrections we need to do. They’ve embarked on that.”
“The city of Hinesville’s main waste water pump station is partially restored. Hinesville water customers may return to normal indoor water usage,” city spokeswoman Krystal Britton said. “Currently, we are still working on additional repairs and replacements; however, residents may return to normal indoor water usage habits.”
A sewer break was first reported at about 10 a.m. Thursday and the city requested that residents and businesses cut water use and the amount of liquids dumped into drains. Water coming out of taps was never contaminated, according to Britton, who said a bypass system was implemented while the pumps were being repaired.
When the pumps at the main station went down, sewage spilled into Peacock Creek, which runs passed Lewis Frasier Road, according to Scott Southwick, an environmental engineer with the Georgia Environmental Protection Department in Savannah. The EPD classified the incident as a major spill, which means more than 10,000 gallons of sewage leaked out.
Because of the size of the spill, the city of Hinesville is required to keep tabs on the creek for awhile. “They will have to do stream monitoring,” Southwick said. “They will monitor upstream for the spill, and monitor the stream downstream of the spill so we can determine if there are any health hazards to natural (wild) life and make whatever kinds of corrections we need to do. They’ve embarked on that.”