ALBANY, GA (WALB) -
Tuesday on Pearson Rd. in Worth County, between Duran Rd. and County Line Road, a Blazer was swept off the road by raging flood water.
If eight to ten inches of rain fell in much of South Georgia over the last few days, Worth County, Cook County, and some other vicinities probably got more than that.
Reed Bingham State Park in Cook County is swamped with about three feet of standing water in some spots. Half the park is under water from the Little River dumping water into Lake Reed Bingham.
The Radium Springs area of Dougherty County is still experiencing some major flood issues as well.
By the Withlacoochee River in south Berrien County off South Old Coffee Road, the river has gone up since Tuesday. Owners of one house estimate there's three feet of water in their house. Floods in 2009 put six feet of water in the same house.
The National Weather Service says the Flint River in Albany will crest at 22 feet on Thursday at 1:00PM, well below flood stage. However, there will be moderate flooding on the Flint at Bainbridge, forecast for 24.6 feet.
Meanwhile, the City of Valdosta says that the high flow at the Withlacoochee Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) caused a hydraulic overload causing sewage to leak into the river. This condition is expected to continue until the Withlacoochee River drops below flood level.
The total suspended solids result from the effluent is greater than 1.5 times the seven day average allowed by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Engineers expect the treatment plant to remain in violation until the River levels drop below flood conditions.
Some manholes along the Withlacoochee Interceptor line and trunk lines feeding the interceptor are now under flood water. Inflow from the flood will continue to cause high flow at the treatment plant until the flood waters recede.
The City of Valdosta is currently having a system of pump stations and force mains designed that will replace the existing 52" gravity main that runs along the river basin to deliver flow to the Withlacoochee WPCP. This will greatly reduce the effects of river flooding on the collection system.
The city is also having a new headworks facility and equalization basin designed for the Withlacoochee WPCP that will reduce the effect of inflow and infiltration on the plant processes. Both of these designs are 60% complete.
The City of Valdosta plans to move the facility to a higher elevation to prevent future flooding. This move will allow the plant to be completely redesigned and re-built.
These three projects should remove the potential for hydraulic overflow due to inflow and infiltration in the future. The City of Valdosta is currently seeking revenue sources to allow the completion of these necessary projects.
Upstream and downstream sampling of the Withlacoochee River has started.
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A Blazer was swept off the road by raging flood water in Worth County
Half the park is under water from the Little River dumping water into Lake Reed Bingham
By the Withlacoochee River in south Berrien County
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