Lake Edith has Returned
Article Written by: Ralph Ellis; Photography by: Rick Ellis
Article Source: The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Thursday, July 11, 2002
Campers from the Fayette Family YMCA are paddling canoes in Lake Edith again. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc., an environmental firm in Tyrone, restored activity by reducing potentially dangerous levels of fecal bacteria in the lake. The lake, next to the YMCA property between Fayetteville and Peachtree City , had been closed to campers the two previous summers by order of the Fayette County Health Department. That was a heavy blow to the YMCA, which had to find other activities to replace its boating program. “The lake is the best it’s ever been in seven years,” said Pam Young, YMCA executive director, “You don’t have the scum on the sides of the lake. You can tell it’s definitely different.”
Ernie Childs, President of Archaea Solutions, Inc. volunteered to help after hearing of the YMCA’s dilemma. Childs said his company normally handles larger problems for businesses and governments, such as clogged oil wells, American dairy farms that produce a million gallons of manure daily or European sewer systems that reach capacity. The company’s most notable success was cleaning up the Sipingo River in South Africa.
The main weapon of Childs’ company is the Archaea (pronounced are key a), a bacteria like organism that consumes nutrients the fecal bacteria normally would eat. “Fecal bacteria doesn’t have any food, and it goes away,” Childs said. “When new fecal bacteria comes in, it has no food and dies.”
Starting in February, Archaea was introduced in powder form at the mouth of a stream feeding into the lake. After two months, the Health De partment measured bacteria levels. They had dropped far enough to allow boating. What’s more, the look and smell of the lake improved noticeably.
The intervention of this private company defused a two year conflict between two government agencies – the county board of health, and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division – over the severity and source of the problem. The health board said it was obvious the lake was polluted by sewage runoff from Marnelle Chateau, a mobile home park on the hill overlooking the lake. But the EPD said the park’s sewage system was systematically tested, and bacteria going to the lake did not exceed danger levels.
Childs didn't charge the county or the YMCA. The service would cost a paying customer $3,000. He doesn't know how long the treatment will be needed. Rick Fehr of the Health Department said regular testing is necessary. “We will be vigilant,” Fehr said. “We are quite aware the conditions could turn back again.”