Sewage spill is cause for State Park closure
Wed Oct 12, 2011
Author: Tori Brock
Source: The Huntsville Item
Swimmers wishing to take a dip in Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park will have to wait a while longer.
Lake Raven closed a little over two weeks ago and will remain closed for at least another week. Pump failures caused a discharge of wastewater from the Elkins Lake sewage station in late September. Park officials closed the lake as a precaution against a possible public health hazard.
“At some point in the night on September 26 or 27, the wastewater lift stations at Elkins Lake subdivision had multiple pump failures,” said Chris Bishop, interim park superintendent. “As a result of these failures, the lift station discharged approximately 300,000 gallons of wastewater into a creek that feeds Lake Raven.”
Bishop said the wastewater began to enter the lake around 3 p.m. on Sept. 27 and the lake was closed by 5 p.m. Fishing is still allowed, but the swimming area remains closed.
“Our first priority is health and public safety,” Bishop said. “As soon as we can assure that our swimming area is safe for the public, we will re-open the area.”
Samples are being taken of water in the swimming area to test for fecal coliform. While there are always some level of fecal coliform in lakes and other waterways, it becomes a danger to human health above a certain level.
“The threshold is 200 parts per million,” Bishop said. “Tests that have come back from our swimming area were six parts per million, which is excellent. We don't think it's going to cause an issue over time, but we ordered another round of testing (Wednesday).”
Additional Information: http://itemonline.com/local/x2021663111/Sewage-spill-is-cause-for-State-Park-closure
