Austell -- Five emergency pumps are now up and running at the South Cobb Water Reclamation Facility.  Cobb County Water System officials signed an emergency contract to have this pumps shipped in from various locations across the eastern US.  They are taking water out of an access tunnel, hoping to eventually drain a flooded pump station at the facility.

An unknown event caused that pump station to flood New Year's Eve during a significant rain event.  The station's shut down caused overflows to go into the nearby Nickajack Creek.  The first of the emergency pumps helped halt those overflows days ago.  The pumps move water through a series of pipes that have been laid hundreds of yards to the main facility.  The work has caused several temporary closures of the Fulton County Airport's main runway since the pumps were installed near the end of the runway's approach.  

The System's Director says these temporary pumps will likely have to be replaced by another system that will allow them to eventually get access to the failure point in the South Cobb Tunnel.

Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce toured the ongoing work Friday and issued an update on the progress.  That update can be viewed by going here;  https://youtu.be/AOCufUFG09o