WTGA reports spills from incident files uploaded to the Georgia EPD Public Complaints portal. Oil, diesel, gas, hazardous materials and sewage spills are posted by the date received, however, these are not available to the public until the incident response is complete and the file is closed. Each week WTGA searches thirty days back for new spill reports added to the database and lists them here by watershed area, including: 

• Spills of petroleum products of 40 gallons or more,
• spills of any amount impacting water
• spills of any amount of toxic contaminants

These incidents are listed by the watershed in which they occurred. 

Spills marked with asterisk * are tracked with state and/or EPA authorities for more information. See the CrimeBox for details on violations and charges under the Clean Water Act.

Gulf of Mexico Flows

1 Gulf North

1a Tennessee River Watershed

The Tennessee River collects rainfall and runoff for the Ohio River system, which joins the Mississippi and empties out into the Gulf of Mexico. While no part of the Tennessee River itself passes through Georgia, there are tributary creeks originating in north Georgia that cross the state line and join up with Tennessee waters.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

1b Coosa River Watershed

The Coosa River is a collection of several tributary rivers gathered from northwest Georgia. At the beginning of this system, the Conasauga River and Coosawattee Rivers join up to form the Oostanaula River. The Oostanaula in turn joins flow with the Etowah River system to form the Coosa River. The Coosa runs west into Alabama where it merges with the Tallapoosa River across the state line in Alabama, forming the Alabama River, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico. 

(Confusion alert** Watch for another river by the same name (Chattooga) in northeast Georgia! These two are not the same.)

• Sept 12, 2:30 pm, 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a tractor-trailer on 75 SB at SR 52 and Walnut Ave, in Dalton (Whitfield). No impacted waterways. CHAMP is hired to clean spill and take it for disposal. No further action required. File closed Sept 15. File#101300

Tallapoosa River Watershed

The Tallapoosa River originates in northwest Georgia, draining an area of Paulding and Haralson counties before crossing the state line and joining the Coosa River, forming the Alabama River.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

2 Gulf West

2a Chattahoochee River Watershed

The Chattahoochee headwaters form up near Helen in northeast Georgia, in the Appalachian Mountains. From Union County, the Chattahoochee flows southwest through the capital Atlanta, and then south, forming the state border with Alabama, terminating in Lake Seminole.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

2b Flint River Watershed

The Flint River originates south of Atlanta and gathers run-off from 7570 sq miles of Georgia as it traverses the course north to south, flowing west through Alabama to empty in the Gulf of Mexico.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

3 Gulf Southwest

3a Ochlockonee River Basin

Ochlockonee River originates in Worth County in southwest Georgia. The Ochlockonee catchment area drains a combined 1400 plus square miles of Georgia landscape before exiting into Florida and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Main use is for fishing. Two smaller and separate watersheds within the Ochlockonee basin, the Aucilla and Wards Creek each have their separate channels directly dumping into the Gulf of Mexico (not monitored). The main tributary rivers and creeks are the Little Ochlockonee River, Tired Creek, Telogia Creek and Crooked River (not monitored).

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

3b Suwannee River Watershed

The Suwanee River originates in the Okefenokee Wilderness, between State Hwy 122 and Valdosta Highway. The blackwater Suwannee and its major tributaries, the Willacoochee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha and Little Rivers channels run off from more than 5000 sq miles from parts of twenty counties in Georgia before crossing over into Florida to empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

4 Atlantic Central

4a Oconee River Watershed

The Oconee headwaters form in Hall County, flowing southeast through Middle and North Oconee Channels to form the Oconee River below Athens. From here the system flows into Lake Oconee, formed by the Wallace Dam and Sinclair Lake formed by the Sinclair Dam. The Oconee flows down from the dams to its confluence Ocmulgee River, eventually emptying into the Atlantic.

• August 26, 9:30 am, a tip came from the 1400 block of Sandy Flats Rd in Cleveland (White), that tanker trucks are dumping onto a field of about 160 acres. Material is reported leaching into ground, water and local family wells. File#101200 is closed as a duplicate complaint of file 100994.

As file #100994 is still open, it is not accessible on the Public Complaints database. WT has reached out to Georgia Environmental Protection Division for more information. 

4b Ocmulgee River Watershed

Ocmulgee River originates at Jackson Lake, straddling Jasper, Newton and Butts Counties. The Ocmulgee flows south to join the Oconee River, forming the Altamaha River. Jackson Lake is fed by three rivers: South, Yellow and Alcovy Rivers originating in Central Georgia, all part of the Ocmulgee Watershed area.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

4c Altamaha River Watershed

The combined flows of the Oconee River system and the Ocmulgee River system form the Altamaha, “the largest free-flowing river on the East coast”, according to the Georgia River Network.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

4d Satilla River Watershed

The Satilla River forms in Ben Hill County flows south 200 miles to the Atlantic Ocean.

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15.

4e St. Marys River Watershed

St. Marys is a blackwater river originating in the Okefenokee Wilderness area, south-central Georgia. The river flows 130 miles and empties into Cumberland Sound in the Atlantic.

Atlantic East

5a Savannah River Watershed

The Savannah River originates in South Carolina, formed with the combined flows of the Tugaloo, itself formed by the joining of the Chattooga and Tallulah Rivers, and the Seneca River. The Savannah flows through east Georgia to its outlet at the Atlantic Ocean, taking run-off from an area of 5800 square miles in Eastern Georgia.

• Sept 6 12:30 am, 90 gallons of sulfuric acid reported spilled on the 300 block of Lathrope Rd. in Savannah (Chatham). Spill resulted from an overflowing rail car, most caught in a catch pan. The remaining spilled into the soil. Spill material was confined, and no water impacted. No further action required. File closed Sept 14. File#101243.

5b Ogeechee River Watershed

The Ogeechee is a free-flowing blackwater river draining an area of 5540 sq miles entirely inside the state of Georgia. The North and South Fork Ogeechee Rivers (not monitored) come together to form the Ogeechee, which flows 245 miles and empties in the Atlantic. 

• No new spill reports found for the search period Aug 15 to Sept 15
• As per EPA Oil Discharge Reporting Requirements,
• the reportable amount of spilled oil product is any amount that leaves a visible sheen on the surface, or sludge at the bottom of the water body.
• Such spills are to be reported immediately (within 15 minutes)
• 1-800-241-4113 Georgia EPD 24-hour Emergency Operations Center
• Spills from a vessel into navigable waterways
• National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-8802
• 24-hour emergency line staffed by US Coast Guard
• All spills should be cleaned up, whether or not they are reportable.
• From Georgia EPD Emergency Operations Centre, “oil” includes but is not limited to: gasoline, crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with wastes, and any other petroleum-related product.
• Accidental discharges of oil during maintenance of one’s own personal vehicle or farm machinery shall be exempt from the reporting requirement.