The City of Atlanta and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper have settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit over the city’s largest wastewater plant, which repeatedly spilled sewage and polluted water into the Chattahoochee River.
Nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper filed the lawsuit in 2024, claiming that for several months, their water tests found high levels of E. coli and other contaminants downstream of Atlanta’s R.M. Clayton wastewater treatment plant. On average, CRK said E. coli levels were 340 times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendations for safe water recreation.
Now, the City of Atlanta and CRK have settled the suit.
According to a Feb. 4 press release, CRK said in the agreement that the City’s Department of Watershed Management reaffirmed its commitment to investing millions of dollars in new equipment, upgrades and repairs at the plant.
“This agreement reflects the power of collaboration and our shared responsibility to invest in clean water. The improvements at the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center are not just about meeting regulatory standards — they’re about safeguarding a vital natural resource for future generations,” said Greg Eyerly, commissioner of the city’s Department of Watershed Management.
“The City’s investments in R.M. Clayton will improve water quality in the Chattahoochee River for City of Atlanta residents and communities downstream. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper looks forward to working with the City to protect water quality in the Chattahoochee River for the benefit of all the people and wildlife that depend on it,” said CRK executive director Jason Ulseth in the press release.
CRK said the City has already started many of these repairs, and the water coming out of the plant is in compliance with its permit and clean water guidelines.
