State environmental officials are investigating a kaolin spill into an East Georgia creek. A broken pipeline is to blame for spilling an estimated 600 tons of clay into the water.

The white liquid made its way from Reedy Creek near Wrens into Brier Creek where a suspected October kaolin spill killed thousands of fish. The creek is a secondary source of drinking water for the City of Waynesboro.

Water Superintendent Jody Ellison says the last spill shut down their filtration plant for nearly two months. This time they were able to keep the kaolin filled water out of their system.

“There was some type of coagulant that was spilled that last time and it did have an impact on my plant. We had to pretty much drain everything, clean it, and start over.”

The spill was first reported by KaMin LLC which owns the pipeline. The October spill is still under investigation by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. EPD officials say they are monitoring four locations at the spill site for turbidity, PH and metals. They're also looking for signs of damage to wildlife.

Tags: Savannah Riverkeeper, kaolin, Georgia Enviromental Protection Division, Georgia rivers, KaMin