Sep 24, 2026 - Water

E. coli surges after Atlanta airport sewage spill

Thomas Wheatley

Illustration of a pattern of nauseous emojis. — Illustration: Axios Visuals

TNTC, or "too numerous to count"

— A result used when a sample contains more bacterial colonies than the testing method can reliably count, like E. coli samples recently collected by the Flint Riverkeeper downstream of a Sept. 16 sewage spill at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, per GPB.

Driving the news: Atlanta airport officials say about 33,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled from an airport wastewater lift station, with approximately 30,000 gallons reaching Sullivan Creek, which drains into the Flint River, WABE reports.

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E. coli surges after Atlanta airport sewage spill

TNTC, or "too numerous to count"

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