Closed portion of ‘extremely dangerous’ Chattahoochee River extended to 11 miles

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned that even more of a busy stretch of the Chattahoochee River will be closed during the holiday weekend because of a sewage spill.

Officials said the spill was discovered Thursday in the area of Morgan Falls and Bull Sluice Lake underneath the river bed.

The river is currently closed for an 11-mile stretch from the Chattahoochee River Center to Whitewater Creek.

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At this time, it’s unclear when officials expect the river to reopen to the public.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan took a ride on the river with the Chattahoochee River Keepers to get a closer look at the ongoing discharge and contamination.

“We have this sewer spill, this contamination source right here,” Jason Ulseth, from the Chattahoochee River Keepers, said. “Our sample result shows that this is highly dangerous to be in the water here and downstream, all the way to Johnson Ferry.”

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There are white specks of paper in the river water and the smell of raw sewage.

Officials say the E. coli levels in the river are “through the roof.”

The National Park Service, which operates the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, is recommending anyone downstream from the closure exercise extreme caution.

Officials told Channel 2 Action News that it’s possible a sewage pipe broke under the river, meaning the efforts to fix the spill could become difficult.

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6-mile stretch of Chattahoochee River closing for ‘extremely dangerous’ E. coli levels, sewage spill

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