“It takes about five minutes to convince them that we’re the best neighbors you can ever have,” Croom said. There are no odor complaints, Croom said. In addition to the timber revenue, municipalities with conventional treatment systems may be jealous of Covington’s good relationship with the neighbors. “We like to think of this site as being sustainable,” he said. Though some may frown upon the harvesting of timber, Croom said the city replants every tree and continues the cycle. The city has harvested over $1 million in timber over the decades. Their priorities are soil and water protection, wildlife, aesthetics and timber production, which has earned the system a Forest Stewardship certification from the Georgia Forestry Commission. Staff is dedicated to maintaining the infrastructure as well as the greenspace and its inhabitants. The water is distributed through 100 miles of pipe, 9,000 sprinklers, two 400-HP pumps and two storage ponds. While land application is common, systems this size are not, Croom said. Soil quality is monitored by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, along with the quality of discharge, storage pond effluent, groundwater and adjacent surface water. “Properly designed and operated land treatment systems produce a percolate water of high quality and thus protect ground and surface water resources,” Croom said. Soil and plants take up the ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorous, and a minimal amount of those nutrients reach the groundwater. Soil bacteria stabilize the remaining organic components. Here is how the process works, according to the Georgia EPD’s “Guidelines for Slow-Rate Lane Treatment by Spray Irrigation”: Wastewater is sprayed onto the land, where it evaporates or enters the groundwater. Newton County treats the wastewater, and then Covington sprays it onto 15 fields and lets Mother Nature do the rest. A lush forest, riparian and wetland areas, and grasslands cover 1,200 acres, soaking up the treated water and benefiting from the nutrients that would damage the lake.Ī conventional sewage treatment plant uses chemicals to pre-treat wastewater before depositing it into a lake or stream. The land application system has more than doubled in size to 2,000 acres and is now permitted for 9.6 million gallons per day of wastewater treatment capacity. Croom will retire next year from a job that he loves and a system that he has shepherded through four expansions. “They gave me a key to the gate, a map and a dog, and said, ‘Good luck,’” Croom said, laughing. In the 1970s, Lake Jackson in the Upper Ocmulgee River basin suffered high nitrogen levels and phosphorous, resulting in excessive lake algae.Īs a result of changes induced by the federal Clean Water Act of 1972, the city of Covington and Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority constructed a land application system to irrigate treated wastewater.ĭavid Croom, Covington’s Water Reclamation Division manager, was the first to oversee the new system in 1985. Mental Health and Homelessness Resources.Cities Connect: Bridging the Generation Gap.Cities Connect: Local Tourism and Your City.10 Important Ransomware Stats and What They Mean for Municipalities.Cities Connect: Housing Leadership: An Evolving Reality.Cities Connect: How to Support Afterschool and Summer Learning Programs.Cities Connect: Tools and Resources Available Through Trust for Public Land.Handbook for Pension Committee Secretaries.Handbook for Georgia Mayors and Councilmembers.Double Taxation Handbook: A Practical Guide to Calculating Double Taxation.A Budget Guide for Georgia’s Municipalities.The Cities of Georgia: Planting Seeds and Living Dreams.How Can Georgia’s Small Cities Survive in The Future?.Meet GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson.Two Cities Selected for 2021 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.GMA Executive Director, Mayors Named to Georgia Trend’s 100 Most Influential Georgians.Firefighter Cancer: 2021 Incentive Winners and 2022 LGRMS Action Plan.2022 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge Winners Announced.You’re Invited: Attend the QLG Workshop in Cartersville. GMA Survey: City Officials Oppose Increased Truck Weights.Local Government Risk Management Services.Georgia Initiative for Community Housing.Municipal Revenue Administration Certificate Program.Legislative Policy Council & Policy Committees.Interest Form to Serve on a Policy Council.
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