Federal officials are reviewing the recent spill of 137 million gallons of raw sewage from the Moccasin Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant, as well as the facility’s decade of deficiencies that span the service of three Chattanooga mayors.
Mayor Ron Littlefield talked with officials in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the concerns before last week’s spill into the Tennessee River.
“I was in Washington last year with other mayors talking about this issue with EPA and the Department of Justice,” the mayor said on the morning after the spill. “The subject there was combined sewer overflows — which this was that kind of overflow that was accelerated and amplified by the loss of pumps.”
A short in electric wires on Tuesday shut down Moccasin Bend’s treatment pumps.
PDF: Inspection report How does an overflow occur?In a combined sewer and stormwater system, rainwater can flood sewers quickly and cause sewage in the lines to flow out on land or into nearby waterways through manholes or street drains.