Another Monteagle Disaster

Bad government rears its ugly head again as Monteagle suffers another PR blow. Poor management seems like a callous disregard for public safety to me. When are we going to learn that IT DOES MATTER WHO GOVERNS!

Monteagle Sewage Spills Into Creek

March 16, 2009 - 9:55 PM

A massive rupture at Monteagle's Sewer Treatment Plant sends a hundred thousand gallons of raw sewage into a local creek. City leaders say the water supply of a number of residents who live at the base of Monteagle Mountain could be impacted by the spill.
Monteagle's Mayor says he has no idea what caused this spill right now but he tells us all of that sewage spilled into a creek behind the plant. That creek goes into the ground about half a mile down from the plant and the Mayor says because of that they have no idea where the spilled sewage went or who could be affected.
Cold water flows from the pump in Robert Myers' yard today, but Myers tells us he won't be drinking that water anytime soon.
"Well yeah you know I don't want to be drinking sewage," Myers says with a chuckle.
Over 100,000 gallons of sewage poured into the Juanita Creek yesterday after an equalization tank ruptured at Monteagle's Sewer Treatment Plant #1.
"Well I heard it bursted the tank up there," Myers says.
"The westside of the tank completely laid down on the ground," Monteagle Mayor Charles Rollins says.
Rollins says they have since bypassed the collapsed tank and put chlorine into the creek, but he says they have no idea what the spilled sewage's affect on the community might be.
We managed to get behind the sewage plant and could see several workers on the scene trying to fix this problem. Their biggest concern is that the sewage that leaked out got into creek, flowed downstream, and then got into the wells on people's property.
The Mayor says that's around twenty-eight wells that could be impacted, including the well in Myers' backyard.
Myers lives in the Pelham Valley which is directly down stream from the spill. Myers says Police Officers and the Mayor stopped by to warn him about the rupture.
"He said it would be okay to shower and wash clothes, but he just said don't drink it," Myers says.
And while Myers says he'll continue to let his dog drink water from the well...
"I don't think it will really affect him," Myers says.
He says he won't take the risk of going to the well one too many times.
"They furnished me bottle water," Myers says. "Long as it's safe that's all I care."
The Mayor says Monteagle residents will not be affected by this spill. He says it could only be the people who live in the Pelham Valley and even then only people who have wells on their property.
The Mayor says they notified the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and also says they'll be testing over the next week to see how much damage the spill really caused.