Catoosa Sewage Pond In Trouble Before

Questions continue about the condition of a sewage treatment pond in Catoosa County, that sits on the banks of South Chickamauga Creek. Last week, testing inspired by a NewsChannel 9 investigation, discovered the pond that treats raw sewage from the Morris Estates Subdivision was leaking raw sewage into the creek..

After we made the city of Ringgold aware of what we had found, officials later acknowledged the possible violation of an illegal discharge into the creek.

We re digging deeper into the inspection records of that sewage pond, and what we've uncovered now might make you want to avoid that part of South Chickamauga Creek.

Administrators at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division say the testing we did for e-coli bacteria in the outflow from the Morris Estates Subdivision Sewage Pond was timely.

"You definitely at least raised somebody's awareness that there may be a potential problem," says Bert Langley, the E.P.D.'s Mountain District Manager.

Our test and a subsequent test by the City of Ringgold, showed extremely high levels of e-coli bacteria in the required 100-milliliter testing container, where the supposedly treated sewage flows into South Chickamauga Creek.

Langley says the numbers were higher than have ever been reported out of that pond. So, we wondered if the city had ever been cited for that, or other problems with the Morris Estates Sewage Pond.

We poured through the records at the E-P-D, and found one violation in 2004.

"The easiest way to put it is, there was probably too much organic matter that made it through the pond," Langley says.

The oxygen level in South Chickamauga Creek was severely reduced, which ordinarily would have produced a fish kill, but did not. Corrections were made, and the City of Ringgold paid a fine of $250.

But then we discovered that in March of this year, the same problem was found at the pond's discharge point into the creek. Again, no fish were killed. For the second time, the city made corrections and was fined another $250 dollars. Records show that fine has not been paid.

Langley says those violations, together with our recent e-coli discoveries are troublesome... but not enough to raise the state's eyebrows about the pond, just yet.

"If we start seeing multiple periods of time, then we have some more leverage to have them encouraged to look at other alternatives," says Langley.

The other sewage treatment alternative Langley is referring to, is tying in to a municipal system.. a connection that has never been made, even though the pipe to Moccasin Bend stops just before it gets to the pond..

As for the recent levels of high e-coli, Langley says, the City of Ringgold will not be fined for this one-time violation, unless further testing turns up an average of the same high levels.. but that condition comes with a stern warning.

Langley told us, "it's to their benefit to take enough samples to get a good representation of what that average actually is."

Neither Ringgold Mayor Joe Barger, nor City Manager Dan Wright were available for comment on our new findings.. we were told both were out of town. We will continue to monitor the harmful bacteria levels where the Morris Estates sewage pond dumps into South Chickamauga Creek..

Again, the state is warning everybody tonight not to fish, swim or have any contact with the water in that creek..