Downstream users treating river water

Officials in South Pittsburg, Tenn., are putting more chlorine than usual in the city’s drinking water because of Tuesday’s raw sewage spill in Chattanooga, 45 miles upstream.

Larry Jones, chief operator of South Pittsburg Water Works, Sewers and Gas, said two samples of raw water taken Wednesday near the town’s intakes on the Tennessee River showed high levels of fecal coliform and E. coli bacteria.

“We’ve increased the chlorine in our treatment system to be on the safe side,” he said.

The city provides water for the town’s 2,608 homes and businesses as well as Kimball, New Hope and the South Pittsburg Mountain community.

Mr. Jones said Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation water regulator Gary Burriss called Wednesday to be sure city workers knew they might need to take extra precautions.

“Usually, we sample (raw water) every four days,” Mr. Jones said. “Now for a while we’ll be sampling every other day. And we’re testing our finished (treated) water every two hours, sometimes quicker.”

Chattanooga and state officials had said they thought the river’s current — swollen from heavy rains Sunday — would quickly dilute the sewage.

South Pittsburg’s tests, however, show nature couldn’t completely cope with the spill.

Bridgeport, Ala., water supply intakes are just five miles downstream of South Pittsburg, but TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said regulators see “no reason to believe they would be affected by this event.”

An employee at the Bridgeport water plant said officials there learned of the spill from news reports and were taking precautions on their own.

“We’re making sure there’s enough chlorine in our system, and monitoring raw every two hours,” said the employee, who asked not to be named.