Visits To Sewer Plants Show Recent Investment And Future Plans

It was a cool, windy and rainy day that Vicki Soutar and Erin Carlton had agreed upon for tours of Oconee County’s two sewage treatment facilities.

Soutar, chair of the Oconee Waters unit of the Upper Oconee Watershed Network, wanted her group to be able to see the county’s new Calls Creek Wastewater Reclamation Facility on the northeastern edge of Watkinsville.

The tour was to be an update to one Soutar had organized back in December of 2015 after Carlton had taken over responsibility for the old plant. The plant had been plagued with operational problems prior to Carlton’s arrival.

Soutar also wanted her group to visit the Land Application System site off Rocky Branch Road in the northwest of the county.

Carlton, county Wastewater Utility supervisor, was happy to oblige.

A rain storm interrupted the day, forcing a rescheduling of parts of the visit to the Calls Creek facility.

The outcome of the original and rescheduled visits is video tours of the county’s two sewage treatment facilities that are detailed and informative and give a sense of the county’s investment in wastewater infrastructure in recent years.

The videos also provide a perspective on how the county is likely to move forward with sewage treatment in the future.

For details about the tours of the two sewage treatment facilities and for access to the videos of those tours, please go to Oconee County Observations.