Last Thursday began as a very pleasant day with sunny skies and everyone in town expecting a great Labor Day weekend. I had just left the annual town employees’ picnic, where we feasted on Blue Hound barbecue and presented longevity awards to select employees.
At about 2:30, everything changed for me with a call from the town manager. A mechanical malfunction with a heating and cooling unit at the Highlands School caused glycol liquid to be deposited in Harris Lake.
County and town staff, including the fire department, immediately went to the school and Harris Lake to assess the situation. It was quickly determined that the source of the glycol came from one of the school’s heating and cooling units. A breach in one of the unit’s pipes caused the leak.
The county emergency response team took the lead in identifying the location of the breach and determining how the glycol had reached Harris Lake. After the source of the leak was identified and it was also determined that a large amount of the liquid had entered the school’s stormwater system. From there, it flowed into a creek that goes under Wilson Road and into Harris Lake.
The county officials eventually stopped the leak and had the Highlands Fire Department begin flushing the stormwater system. This decision was made after studying Material Safety Data Sheets about the glycol liquid. It is also used for de-icing planes. While it is considered toxic to humans and animals in a concentrated form, the recommendation is to dilute the glycol with water. After being diluted with water, as the fire department did, the glycol began to biodegrade quickly, especially in warm and sunny conditions.
County officials also brought in state water quality officials to review the situation and to conduct water tests in Harris Lake and in Mirror Lake. By Friday afternoon, the water quality officials stated that there was no contamination in either Harris or Mirror Lake. They recommended, out of caution, closing Harris Lake to the public until Tuesday morning.
There are several takeaways from this incident. First, with modern systems that we all use and depend upon, there is always the possibility of an accident or breach, such as what happened on Thursday. The county and town worked well together in addressing this problem. The Macon County Emergency Management Department responded fast and effectively in addressing the spill that occurred at a county school. They were quick to bring in the state for further support and assistance. Our police department, code staff, and fire department work together with county officials, especially in addressing concerns about the watershed.
Also, our new town app and website work well in getting out information to the public about the situation. Some might contend that we needed more frequent updates, but we erred on the side of caution to avoid putting out inaccurate information. For instance, we withheld making a statement on Friday until all the state testing was completed.
While I do not use Facebook, several staff members kept me informed about what was being said. Rumors can flourish out of control in emergency situations.
Some folks were concerned about the spill’s impact on wildlife. We were too, but after repeated observations, our staff saw no evidence of fish or aquatic species being killed at Harris Lake. The same can be said of waterfowl.
One person on Facebook said the release of the glycol was intentional. I was at the school when the fire marshal determined the source of the breach and damage. No one intentionally released the liquid; it was an accident. I am certain county and school officials will continue to assess exactly what caused the mishap and how to correct the problem permanently.
One person online declared someone should go to prison for this spill. Really? Amazingly, a person on Facebook can make such an instantaneous judgment without knowing the facts. Intemperate discourse is awash on the internet.
Finally, please get the new Town of Highlands App. It is tailored for exactly this type of situation. The app also provides an immediate portal to the town website. Both platforms can post real-time reports that are more correct than Facebook chatter.
