A pair of manholes between Remer Lane and Rouse Road just outside of Remerton dumped more than 400,000 gallons of wastewater into One Mile Branch.

VALDOSTA – A collapsed sewer line caused more than 672,000 gallons of sewage to spill earlier this month into the wetland watershed adjacent to Knights Creek, city officials said in a statement released this week.

On Wednesday, Feb. 15, the City of Valdosta received notification of a possible sewer issue at the 1800 block of East Park Avenue, city officials said.

“Upon investigation, city staff identified a collapsed sewer line on East Hill Avenue which caused the collection system to surcharge and manholes to overflow at the East Park location,” city officials said. “City staff and a local contractor worked around the clock to divert flow around the collapsed area and stop the spill. An estimated 672,250 gallons of sewer was released into the wetland watershed area adjacent to Knights Creek.”

City staff began cleaning up and disinfecting the overflow location.

City officials said appropriate regulatory and public health agencies have been notified, and warning signs have been posted.

“Preventing sewer spills has been, and will continue to be, the city’s top priority through the ongoing Collection System Rehab Program, which includes manhole rehab, the smoke testing program, sewer main lining and sewer main replacement,” city officials said in the statement. “In addition, the utilities department has an ongoing river sampling program that tests waters at different locations down the Withlacoochee River and has continued to install generators at the lift stations to ensure uninterrupted operation during power failures.”

In the past decade, the city has spent millions of dollars to upgrade water and sewage infrastructure after millions of gallons of sewage regularly spilled into area waterways.