Facilities

Water Reclamation
South River WRC 955 South River Industrial Blvd. Atlanta, GA 30315

South River WRC

The South River Water Reclamation Center (WRC) is located at 955 South River Industrial Boulevard in southeast Atlanta. This facility provides wastewater treatment for the South River sewer service area that encompasses portions of Atlanta, East Point, College Park, Hapeville, Forest Park, DeKalb County and Clayton County. The South River WRC also treats partially treated wastewater from the Intrenchment Creek WRC. The facility is designed to treat 54 million gallons per day (mgd) of wastewater for discharge to the Chattahoochee River under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit.

The South River WRC was constructed in 1936. Recent improvements to the South River WRC include new screening and grit removal facilities, upgrade of the primary sludge pumping system, conversion of the existing aeration tanks to optimize biological carbon oxidation, nitrification and phosphorus removal, effluent filtration, ultraviolet disinfection and post-aeration. Other related improvements include new sludge thickening and dewatering facilities and odor control systems.

The treatment process removes biological and chemical impurities from the wastewater making it suitable for discharge to the Chattahoochee River in three phases: primary treatment, secondary treatment, and tertiary treatment. The primary treatment process begins with the removal of floatable and settleable solids. Removed solids are hauled to a landfill for disposal. Next, biological treatment during the secondary treatment phase reduces the concentration of organic and chemical pollutants. Finally, tertiary treatment removes the remaining suspended solids, disinfects the treated water using ultraviolet radiation, and increases dissolved oxygen concentrations before discharging to the Chattahoochee River. The biological solids that are removed during the wastewater treatment process are reduced in the digestion process before being dewatered and hauled to a landfill.