Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Enviro City: Weird water in Perkerson Park creek focus of 'big investigation'
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:56 AM
- Andisheh Nouraee
- Perkerson Park creek turned from clear to gray
On Saturday, Andisheh Nouraee sent us photos of the creek in Perkerson Park near Capitol View. Water draining from a tunnel that runs under the neighborhood and into the stream — which in the past has been contaminated with oil and other pollutants thanks to illegal dumping — had turned from clear to gray. Nouraee called the state Environmental Protection Division which involved Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management.
DWM Spokeswoman Janet Ward says field investigators think the strange-colored water came from an "unmapped connection," or pipe, hooked to the storm-water system by a private developer or even the city.
Ward adds: "[Investigators] found where it is and found what it's doing. And now they have to find out whether it's connected to other pipe and whether it's legal or illegal. If it is legal, this discharge could be legal, which is scary."
The city is leading the investigation — which she says is "very, very high priority" — with assistance from the state EPD.
Comments (10)
Showing 1-10 of 10
is it really "scary"? Not to rush to defend a developer, but this could just be a construction crew cleaning their equipment with a garden hose near a storm drain. The environmental impact of this, versus, say, all of the city's shade tree mechanics disposing of used motor oil in the woods or down a drain is negligible.
like
dislike
I would like to point out that the city's "big investigation" has not included asking me to send them the pictures I took Saturday or the provide them with the bottle of the polluted water I saved (which would help them determine the concentration of the pollutant at 2pm Saturday and, therefore, help them figure out what time it was dumped).
Just saying.
If they really want to know if the water is dangerous it shouldn't be that difficult to test it.
I put some on my cereal, it was just fine....kinda like skim milk with a crawfish and oil undertone.
The Beach Boys have an opinion on this subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cTIYsvJOQk
Dear Andisheh,
Thank you for your citizen action! Good call on taking a sample of the liquid (I hesitate to call it water) when you saw the problem.
City of Atlanta employees have many competing priorities, and may or may not have the time to conduct a thorough investigation. You might want to go directly to the state for the environmental testing (Atlanta will just send your sample onward to the same lab). They have assisted in many environmental dumping investigations and are the experts in this kind of thing:
http://health.state.ga.us/programs/envserv…
Environmental Emergencies (spills, violations)
Throughout Georgia: (800) 241-4113
Metro Atlanta: (404) 656-4300
Also, it will be helpful for the lab to have samples taken at different times to compare and find out if it is just one pollutant or a mix of things that is changing over time. So even if there are later samples taken, they should still test the one taken by you.
Thanks again for your help. Children play in that park....it really shouldn't be full of nasty liquids!
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/back-to-drawing-board-1252603.html
Less black folks but same representation: hmmh something is amiss!
I have offered the water sample to Georgia EPD and City of Atlanta inspectors who took my initial reports. It's sitting in my garage until someone asks for it.
"http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/back-to-dr…
Less black folks but same representation: hmmh something is amiss!"
why do idiots always feel the need to interject off topic noise just to share their crap opinion about nothing
it's like a child coming up to you in the middle of dinner, with a turd in his hands
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
Vernon Jones wants to return to the Gold Dome and other interesting qualification tidbits 1
Qualifying period ends, dust settles, campaigns begin
-
Suspects in Pittsburgh gay bashing slated to go to trial Tuesday
The men accused of beating Brandon White in Southwest Atlanta already headed to court
-
Film Clips: Men In Black 3
Men in black are back, Chernobyl's tourism industry is booming, and music festival romance all this weekend 'at the movies.'
- More »
More by Author
-
Cumming mayor needs briefing on Georgia's sunshine laws 4
Kicks out citizen journalist from meeting for videotaping
-
First Slice 5/17/12: Sidewalk fall costs city $3 million 5
Talk a walk and get paid
- More »
