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10/30/2024
WT Staff
 Got water questions? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email us at info@wtga.us
October 31, 2024 1047 am EDT updated Nov 1, 952 am EDT
Maintaining drinking water quality through multiple challenges
Drinking water facilities are faced with myriad challenges to consistently produce and deliver water meeting Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. Aging infrastructure ruptures at random intervals, source water is vulnerable to contamination from storms and flooding, accidental spills, planned releases and deliberate discharges exceeding permitted levels, non-point pollutant sources such as from the agriculture industry. Airborne particulate pollution from forest fires and planned burns will drift and contaminants will settle in surface water, even non-particulate airborne contaminants make it into the waterways via rainfall.
The 2024 hurricane season delivered repeated incidents of widespread flooding to the southeast states. Surface water sources were contaminated and municipal groundwater well heads were flooded placing extreme strain on the public drinking water facilities. In Central Georgia, late September, Hurricane Helene dropped more than 11 inches of water, flooding many waterways, according to US Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring sensors placed in the water bodies to monitor flow volume and depth against the measured flood stages. Big Haynes Creek is the raw drinking water source for Rockdale County. US Geological Survey recorded flooding in Big Haynes Creek at Bald Rock Rd monitoring station beginning the afternoon of Sept 27, the peak flow reached at 16.73 feet deep, just inches from moderate flood stage. Based on provisional data from those sensors, the flooding subsided the morning of Sep 29 around 1030 am. By this time, the Biolab chemical fire at Conyers had already produced a toxic smoke plume that shut down I-20 and forced local residents to shelter in place.
See WTGA.us map for the locations of the flood, fire and drinking water source, here.
Biolab Fire Incident Overview. Oct 2024 From Rockdale County, Georgia
At approximately 5:30 am on Sunday, September 29, 2024 Rockdale
County Fire Rescue responded to a roof fire at Biolab in Conyers, GA.
The building at Biolab contained the water reactive chemical chlorine and chlorine compounds from which the fire produced a toxic plume. According to Rockdale County news release of Sep 30, the response team included regional Environmental Protection Agency staff, The State of Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Georgia Emergency Management with local first responders from neighboring counties.
The chemicals detected by EPA air monitoring include:
- Chlorine, chloramine and chlorine compounds
- Carbon Monoxide
- Hydrogen Chloride
- Phosgene
According to USA Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 media spokesperson, the contaminants in this plume were gaseous, not particulate matter. The gas is not presumed to return to the surface to contaminate water supplies, however certain cases of non-particulate airborne contaminants have been detected in surface and groundwater. It is beyond the scope of the Regional EPA offices to comment on our inquiry as to how airborne contaminants can move and impact surface water and groundwater. WTGA will follow up with EPA Office of Research and Development in Washington, DC. More to follow.
WTGA asked Rockdale County water to tell us how back-to-back assaults on the drinking water supply impacted the day to day operations and water quality following the flooding and fire.
According to Kimbry Peek, Director of Rockdale Water Resources in an emailed statement October 29, 2024, "I am providing an update regarding recent events at Big Haynes Creek. There have been no reports of flooding in that area. However, the county did experience significant rainfall during the recent storm associated with the hurricane. In preparation, our Water Resources team mobilized standby pumps and generators to several critical locations, including Tall Oaks, Salem Lake, Springwood, Rockbridge II, and Old Salem pump stations. This equipment was on standby to address potential power failures or flooding at the pump stations. Additionally, our crews worked around the clock during the storm to respond to water resource emergencies.
Regarding the Biolab fire, our Water Resources teams promptly collected water samples to monitor for elevated chlorine levels in all streams downstream and at our drinking water source, Randy Poynter Lake Reservoir. We have conducted these tests daily since the event began, and I'm pleased to report that no high chlorine levels have been detected in either the downstream streams or the reservoir."
Shelter-in-Place Order Timeline
The initial response of Rockdale County and initial news release the day after the fire incident Sept 30, urging all County residents to take shelter indoors, while the Interstate 20 was closed. From that first news release, "Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), based on information received from the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), strongly advises all Rockdale County residents to continue to shelter in place. Additionally, in the best interest and safety of the public and all citizens, it is recommended that businesses close operations until shelter-in-place is lifted."
"This information is based on air quality surveys conducted by EPA and EPD, which revealed the harmful irritant
chlorine, which was detected in the air emitting from the incident location of Bio Lab. For everyone sheltering in
place, the best practice is to turn the air conditioning off and keep windows and doors shut. On the Georgia Department of Transportation recommendation, Interstate 20 will remain closed eastbound and westbound from Turner Hill Rd to Almon Rd. The need to keep Interstate 20 closed is based on unpredictable path and wind direction, which could change the direction of the irritants in the air."
Later that same day, the shelter in place recommendation was rescinded based on acceptable air quality results from the EPA. Sep 30, 2024 "Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is lifting the Shelter in Place recommendation and the evacuation zone for Rockdale County effective immediately. The latest readings from monitoring the last 24 hours via EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) with results showing Rockdale County with an average level of all readings at .09 well below the action level (.5) as of the last reading (September 30 at 4:59 pm). Rockdale County Water Resources has tested the water, and it is deemed safe. The EPA will continue to monitor the air quality readings. Citizens can expect to continue to see clouds until its fully dissipated."
The following day, Oct 1, the Shelter in Place order was re-issued for the entire County. "At 3:30 a.m., on Oct. 1, 2024, a notification came in from operations at Biolab that a plume was hovering over the county because of over-gassing of the product. The plume has been moving across the county, influenced by the weather. The EPA has been actively monitoring air quality. Residents are urged to shelter in place if the plume or smell of chlorine is over their area until the cloud has passed. This is especially critical for individuals with respiratory conditions. It is essential to stay aware of the wind shifts. Due to inversion, the plume is more prone to shift during the evening, and it is recommended to stay inside during evening hours if possible and keep emergency alert notifications on your phone active."
By Oct.7, the Shelter in Place was rescinded for all but those in a two-mile radius of the Biolab Facility in Conyers. Ten days later, the need to shelter-in-place was declared over for all Rockdale County residents. Oct 17, 2024 "The Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency (RCEMA) has lifted the shelter-in-place order for the entire county, following successful and continuous clean-up efforts. Rockdale County EMA and the Unified Command are aligned in recommending the lifting of the shelter in place to allow businesses, schools and the Rockdale County Community to resume normal activities. The decision comes after 72 hours of air monitoring showed no significant spikes, and there is no longer a visible plume. This includes the area within a two-mile radius of the BioLab facility."
Drinking Water Source Protection
Rockdale County drinking water is sourced from surface water with an intake in Big Haynes Creek, part of the Ocmulgee River watershed. See the yellow tag on our map to the right for an approximate location of the raw water intake within the watershed. The location of the fire is noted with a pink tag, the location of the flood in black.
Nearly a month following the flooding and fire, these are the official statements made about the security of Rockdale County's raw drinking water source:
- Sep 30 news release: "Rockdale County Water Resources has tested the water, and it is deemed safe. The EPA will continue to monitor the air quality readings."
- Oct 1 news release: "Rockdale County, GA: Water samples are being tested three times daily, and all results have returned safe levels. Streams downstream from the Biolab facility do not feed into the Hanes Watershed, a source of the county’s drinking water."
Rockdale County included in their statement to the media "creeks in the vicinity of the fire do not flow into Big Haynes Creek where the Rockdale County water supply is sourced". Indeed the nearest creeks to the incident site, Almand and Tanyard Creeks flow south and do not come near the Rockdale County source water. Another creek in the general vicinity of the fire to the southeast, Boar Tusk Branch flows north through Conyers to meet Yellow River. The Yellow River flows south past the west side of Georgia International Horse Park. South of Bald Rock Road, the Rockdale County water source Big Haynes Creek joins Yellow River. This confirms, no flow co-mingling of the water bodies from near the fire with the Rockdale County source water.
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