Weeks after overflows from Atlanta’s sewer tunnels contributed to the deaths of thousands of fish on the Chattahoochee River, the city’s Department of Watershed Management says its investigating another fish kill on a different river.
In a news release Tuesday, the watershed department said it was investigating reports of dead fish on the South River that may have been caused by a chemical spill at the South River Water Reclamation Center.
Located about 6 miles south of downtown Atlanta, the facility is one of the city’s main sewage treatment plants. However, it does not release treated wastewater into the South River. Instead, its treated wastewater is pumped across town and discharged into the Chattahoochee River.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
A spokeswoman for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division said its sister agency, the Department of Natural Resources, was first alerted to a possible fish kill on Saturday. An Atlanta resident notified the agency that they had spotted dead fish in the South River where it crosses under Jonesboro Road SE.
DNR staff visited the site on Sunday and after observing dead fish in the river and collecting water samples, the department notified the city.
On Tuesday, the EPD spokeswoman said Atlanta reported a possible chemical spill to state environmental regulators, and both agencies are in the process of investigating whether the substance reached the South River.
Atlanta’s watershed department said it believes a chemical may have leaked into storm drains at the South River facility, but that the “source, volume, and environmental impact are still being determined.”
Watershed said it has also deployed crews to collect water samples and is coordinating its investigation with EPD.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The South River has been plagued for years by pollution problems.
The waterway is formed by a series of creeks that drain heavily populated and industrialized parts of the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County. The river itself flows for 60 miles through several underserved, majority Black communities around the southeast metro area, before emptying into Jackson Lake and the Ocmulgee River.
In 2021, the nonprofit American Rivers ranked the South River at No. 4 on its annual list of the country’s most endangered rivers.
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