Water Samples Taken After Massive Smyrna Sewage Spill

SMYRNA, TN -- In preparation for a required report to state environmental officials, water samples were taken from Stewarts Creek in Smyrna Tuesday following what may have been the largest sewage spill in Tennessee history.

Over the weekend, two broken sewer mains sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater spilling from manhole covers with thousands of gallons making their way to Stewarts Creek, a key tributary of the Stones River and Percy Priest Lake.

After days of working to mitigate damage to the waterway - sometimes working as long as 18 hours - personnel from Rutherford County's Premier Protective Services took nine water samples -- from the location of the spill and sites up- and downstream -- Tuesday and sent them to a Nashville lab.

Premier's Matt Church told WKRN that the job is particularly important to him and his coworkers because they too rely on the creek for water and recreation.

“To be honest with you, we’re local boys,” Church told the station. “We live in La Vergne and the Smyrna area so this is not only a project this is our home. We rely on the independent creek and the lake for you know our own drinking water. So, it’s very personal that we get the contaminates out, so it’s a little more than a job, our kids play at these parks and play in these creek, so we are going to make sure it’s the best of our ability.”

Photo by J.R. Lind, Patch staff