'State of the City' Postponed; Clean Water Practices Discussed

Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins was unable to deliver his “State of the City” address on Tuesday at the Austell Business Association luncheon due to a family emergency. He instead was at the side of his wife in the hospital.

Austell City Clerk Carolyn Duncan announced that the mayor does plan to deliver the address at the ABA’s February meeting.

In his absence, Austell Stormwater Inspector Craig Carpenter spoke to the group about water quality and the steps businesses and individuals can take to help ameliorate the problem of stormwater pollution.

“Businesses play a big role in the issue that’s at hand,” said Carpenter, who began working for the city in October 2010.

Members of the city’s Public Works Department are considering implementation of a program that would recognize Austell businesses for their practices that help alleviate water pollution.

Currently, Public Works employees visit various businesses to help educate them about ways they can improve and decrease their impact on the local water system.

Often, individuals pour out chemicals or unwanted liquids outside in drains because they believe the drains lead to a treatment facility, but instead lead to local creeks and rivers, which are sources of drinking water for many towns, cities and counties. Austell’s Sweetwater Creek is the drinking source for the city of East Point. Austell’s drinking water comes from Cobb County, which uses Lake Lanier as its drinking water source.

Austell, like other local municipalities, raised monthly stormwater fees from $1 to $3  to help pay for the increased cost of treating water and rebuilding a crumbling stormwater infrastructure which Carpenter said is “past its life span or “is not adequately sized.”

Instead of a monthly $3 stormwater utility fee, City of Austell residents now have pay an annual stormwater utility fee of $36, which is added to their tax bills.

“In the end, it’s definitely creating a better city, a better infrastructure,” explained Carpenter, who was recognized as a certified floodplain manager by the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Carpenter also worked for a civil engineering company in Marietta and for the Paulding County Department of Transportation.

The cost to treat the water to make it fit for drinking would be less if there were less contaminants going into the drinking water sources, Carpenter explained before pointing out ways that businesses can look for signs of contamination and practices they can implement to stop the contamination or pollution.

Some of the practices are also laws and regulations that business are required to comply with in order to conserve water or eliminate pollutants, which can adversely affect the health of both humans and animals.

“We’re being made to comply with those laws as well…The outcome is beneficial for all of us. We don’t want to run out of drinking water,” Carpenter said.

To help decrease contamination or pollution, businesses and individuals should look for:

• Pipes, ditches, culverts connected or adjacent to a building and leading to a stormwater treatment system or directly to a water source
• Materials stored outside without a cover that could come in contact with rain water
• Evidence of potential sources of contamination such as discoloration or oily sheens

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Tips

• Identify locations of stormwater drains and protect them from activities that could contaminate them, such as throwing out mop water, which should instead be poured down a sanitary drain.
• Avoid storing chemicals outdoors or provide cover to keep rainwater from contacting them or secondary contamination.

Reduce operational impact on water sources by:

• using environmentally friendly chemicals,
• conserving energy,
• recycling materials,
• reducing waste
• and conserving water.