On 6/30/2023 Paulding County staff received a complaint of a sewer smell from a business located at 99 Commodore Path, Hiram, GA 30141. Staff arrived on site at 11:44 a.m. and discovered sewage flowing out of the ground behind the business and into Rakestraw Creek. Crews were dispatched and began digging on the leak and discovered that the force main was broken from bell to bell and an entire 20-ft section of pipe would need to be replaced. At Rakestraw Lift Station, located at 578 Poplar Springs Road, Hiram, GA 30141, pumps were turned off at 1:55 p.m. to allow the flow to be stopped, so crews could remove and replace the broken section of pipe. The flow at the main break location stopped at 2:44 p.m. At approximately 2:00 p.m., sewage began to overflow from the manhole in front of the lift station, and pump trucks were used to capture as much of the flow as possible and transport it to the Coppermine WRF. A total of 252,150 gallons spilled into Rakestraw Creek. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified on 07/01/2023 at 10:42 a.m., and were updated at 12:40 p.m. of the volume of the spill at the lift station site. At approximately 2:00 p.m. on 07/01/2023, the lab personnel pulling samples for the downstream spill location observed several dead fish. DNR was notified of a fish kill at 2:37 p.m., and the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) was notified at 2:57 p.m. Signs were posted on 07/01/2023 at both of the spill locations, and lime was applied to the affected areas.