EPD Investigates Garden City Sewage Spill

A 3 On Your Side follow up tonight to a story we brought you regarding a sewage spill in Garden City.
A News 3 viewer called asking for our help. She says for close to two months now sewage has been flowing into this ditch and into the Horseshoe Canal.
Garden City employees actually found it and contacted the Georgia Environmental Protection Department.
The E.P.D issued a swimming and fishing advisory for the canal, then the problem cleared up, until this weekend.
News Three’s Alice Massimi went out with the E.P.D. today while they investigated the smelly problem.
Scott Southlake of the Georgia Environmental Protection Department was shocked that the smell, along with the sewage, was back.
“It looks like raw sewage. I am not exactly sure what it is, to me it looks like untreated sewage,” says Southlake. 
It’s not a pretty site at all, clumps of solids float along the ditch and a gunk covers other areas.
Southlake was out here two months ago when the sewage first appeared.
“I didn’t know it was going on for two months because when I had come out here in May it ended and I hadn’t gotten a single call about it till yesterday.” 
So now the hunt is back on.
While many fingers are pointing at this privately owned treatment plant, Southlake says they’ve tested fine., even today the sample taken looked rather clear, nothing like the mucky water in the ditch.
“I am not going to rule it out as a possibility but I don’t think I can get to that conclusion yet. It’s too bad down there. How does it go from all the way here, down there and doesn’t look bad here but looks terrible down there?”
Not considered an imminent threat Southlake says it’s still a concern.
“It affects aquatic life it could make someone ill if they were swimming in it.”
To make sure the levels of pollutants are safe Southlake is testing the water up and down the canal and even the ditch, trying to get to the bottom of a stinky situation.
Garden City says they believe the water treatment plant is responsible for the problem and they’re expecting them to clean up the mess.
Results from the water tests should be back at the beginning of next week.