VALDOSTA, GA. (WTXL) — Another sewer spill in Valdosta—this time small, but still stirring concern.
- Monday’s spill released up to 1,000 gallons into Sugar Creek, which connects to the Suwannee River system.
- Since April 2024, over 409,000 gallons of raw sewage have spilled from the same Wainwright Dr. location.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors and the city's plan of action.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
At around 11:30 a.m. Monday, city utility crews were called out to 1212 Wainwright Drive, where stormwater from an early morning downpour overwhelmed the system—causing up to 1,000 gallons of sewage to discharge into Sugar Creek.
Crews had the situation under control within the hour, but this marks the second sewer overflow in less than a month in the same area.
Since April 11th, 2024, this exact address has seen about 409,000 gallons of raw sewage spill due to weather and overflow.
While city officials say the system was pushed beyond its limits due to heavy rainfall, environmental advocates say the pressure is on to act faster.
"They need to be organizing to handle big rain events. And yeah, I know it's a difficult problem because this problem started decades ago when the city was growing very rapidly and people were, you know, the city was not taking care of the sewer system. The current people in charge were not around then."
Sugar Creek flows into the Withlacoochee, which feeds the Suwannee River—both of which have seen contamination and advisories in past years due to larger wastewater spills.
This time, the impact may have been minimal—but Suwannee Riverkeeper John Quarterman says even a "small" spill is still a spill.
"Once again i applaud the hard work of the city officials but nobody's gonna be satisfied until the 0 gallons of raw sewage spilled."
The City of Valdosta says improvements are underway, with multiple infrastructure and monitoring projects in progress.
"The Utilities Department continues to invest in the upgrading of aging infrastructure, as well as in proactive maintenance, monitoring programs, and the development of new strategies to mitigate the impacts of severe weather and I&I."
City leaders say they're committed to keeping the water clean and the public safe, with any and all update being released as it comes.
In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
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