Macon Water Authority preparing for water crises before they happen

JONES COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Macon Water Authority is preparing for what could be a disaster–Bibb county’s water reservoir becoming contaminated.

The same chlorine you find in the water you drink and shower in has a dark side.

“The good of the chlorine is it safens water, but the bad is that any spill could be deadly within seconds,” said water treatment director Gary McCoy.

So any overexposure of chlorine would mean trouble for Macon-Bibb residents.

“It could be in the air it could also be in the water supply if it leaks in the air or leaks in to the lake or if it leaks into one of their wells from my understanding–all this water goes out to the community,” said Vigilant Guard participant Sergeant Katie Moore.

That’s why Macon Water Authority is preparing for emergencies ahead of time.

“Without proper precautions or training, that chlorine could travel and it could affect a lot more people so it’s important that we’re doing this training,” said McCoy.

Georgia’s Vigilant Guard emergency training for this disaster simulated a chlorine truck spilling in the area, which contaminates the water.

“The national guard–it’s our job to come in and help any of the emergency response people in the area, police, fire department, whoever–so us working as a team or training as a team,we’re going to come together,” Moore added.

Director of water treatment Gary McCoy says there’s no guarantee it’ll happen.

“In 1994, it was unlikely that Macon was gonna flood, but it flooded and we were without water for 19 days.”

But if we’re ever in hot water in an emergency, Macon Water Authority has you covered.

They also did an exercise to show how to purify drinking water as needed. Macon-Bibb’s EMA, fire department, and First Responders were all part of the two day Vigilant Guard training at Amerson Water Treatment Plant.