MADISON COUNTY, Fla. – Officials with the Florida Health Department issued an advisory Friday cautioning residents of Madison and Hamilton Counties that river water in those areas may have been contaminated by sewage overflows from Valdosta.
“Until further information is known regarding possible contamination of the river, people in the area are urged to take precautions those individuals in Hamilton and Madison counties. Water contaminated by wastewater overflow presents several health hazards to humans and may contain untreated human sewage with microbes that could cause gastro-intestinal and other diseases,” stated the FHD release.
Anyone who comes in contact with the river water should wash thoroughly, especially before eating or drinking. Children and older adults, as well as people with weakened immune systems, are particularly vulnerable to disease so every precaution should be taken if in contact with the river water.
The City of Valdosta released the following statement about the overflows:
“During routine rainfall inspections on Feb. 4, the Utilities Department staff identified and responded to sanitary sewer spills at multiple sites resulting from the heavy rain received. The stormwater infiltration and inflow from the Feb. 3-4 rain event—the same type of sewer overflows that the force main and plant relocation projects seek to eliminate in the future—entered the city’s sanitary sewer collection system, exceeding the capacity of the sewer system and resulting in the combined stormwater and sewer overflows of manholes at the following locations.”
Valdosta is in the final stages of completing two major projects that are expected to eliminate these problems—the Force Main Project and the relocation of the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant. These projects are anticipated to be operational by the end of spring 2016—approximately 5 months and 15 months ahead of schedule respectively.
For more information about the potential health effects of wastewater overflow, Floridians are encouraged to contact their county health department. To find contact information for your county health department at (386) 792-1414
