Septic system stinks

The odor coming from Patriots Park may not necessarily be sweat.

• Photos

The restrooms on the ground level of the scoring towers of the park's baseball and softball complexes use a system similar to that of a portable toilet

On a muggy summer day, the system can cause a stink - literally.

"The smell over here sometimes, especially during the summers, is awful," said Columbia County Recreation Department Director Charlie Beale.

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"Even though we're venting these things out the roof, when it gets humid it just kind of hangs."

Columbia County Recreation Department Director Charlie Beale has requested tax funds to

connect Patriots Park

restrooms to the county's sewer system.

Photo by Jim Blaylock

Beale recently was asked to create a recreation department priority list of tasks he would like to see completed using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding. Fixing the complexes' bathrooms ranked fourth.

Beale wants to use tax funds to install a pump station and connect Patriots Park to the county sewer lines. He estimates it will cost $150,000 to complete the project. He also suspects that the county won't focus funds on his priority list until the new library in Evans is completed in 2005.

The current septic system at each complex uses two 1,000-gallon polyurethane waste tanks. Each tank is vented through a pipe in the roof of the towers and they are emptied twice a year.

"It's a biodegradable system," said Beale. "It's like a Portalet, except when it drops in this tank below there are wood chips and microbiology enzymes down there that cause the stuff to mix up and disintegrate."

Attempts to alleviate the smell - such as using deodorants and raising the roof vents - have met with limited success, said Beale. He believes the best option for solving the problem is connecting Patriots Park to the sewer line.

Other projects on the priority list include installing scoreboards at Riverview Park, regrating Blanchard Park and fixing the water drainage problem at Patriots' Softball Complex.