Wastewater Visibility News
Texas-Sized Challenges for Texas Wastewater Infrastructure
May 30, 2024
Wastewater Visibility News
Wastewater overflows continue to challenge Texas wastewater infrastructure.
May 2024: A Month of Texas Wastewater Challenges
While the following list may not account for all wastewater overflows this past month in Texas, it does emphasize the enormous challenges facing utilities directors, operators, and the communities they serve in Texas, as well as facing their counterparts across the U.S., and around the globe.
Temple, Texas, Wastewater Overflow
The city of Temple, Texas, has experienced six sewage overflows, each greater than 100,000 gallons, since January 2024. Following storms on May 16, sewage overflowed at four separate locations, and the city estimates that 1,197,675 gallons of overflow was discharged into Bird Creek.
Temple Public Relations Coordinator Megan Price told KCENTV.com, “Our sewer lines have experienced increased demand, and some of our sewer lines are older… The filtration of water is an ongoing issue, but we are actively addressing it.”
Port Arthur, Texas, Wastewater Overflow
Approximately 3 million gallons of raw sewerage ended up in a city canal that, less than a year ago, was the site of a 2.5-million-gallon sewerage leak. The suspected cause of the most recent spill was a leaking pipe and a “break in the service line from the lift station to the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), which required an emergency repair.”
Austin, Texas, Wastewater Overflow
An equipment malfunction at an Austin Water lift station near Rock Harbour Drive in West Austin, Texas, resulted in 125,000 gallons of wastewater overflowing into the Bull Creek watershed.
According to austintexas.gov. “The overflow was discovered at 9:26 a.m. on May 13, 2024, and was stopped by crews at 9:40 a.m. the same morning. Recovery, hauling, and cleanup are ongoing… This overflow has not affected Austin’s drinking water supply.”
Waco, Texas, Wastewater Overflow
Earlier in the month (May 2, 2024), during heavy rainfall in Waco, more than 107,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater overflowed from several manhole covers.
Following a power surge and a tripped breaker at the Waco Metropolitan Area Regional Sewer System (WMARSS) Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, compounded by the failure of two backup generators (one down for maintenance and the other inoperable due to damaged electronics), partially treated wastewater overflowed from the main lift stations. Operators were able to switch power sources, but not before approximately 163,000 gallons of rainwater and diluted wastewater were released.
Other parts of the Waco wastewater treatment plant remained without power for roughly two hours. The city estimated that 3,225,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater were discharged from the plant’s outfall into the Brazos River.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) estimated the volume of the spill as 3,498,000 gallons in total.
- 163,000 gallons: main WMARSS lift station
- 3,225,000 gallons: partially treated effluent into the Brazos River
- 26,700 gallons: manhole overflow
- 81,000 gallons: additional manhole overflow
Texas authorities have responded to these and other wastewater breaches, reminding residents using private drinking water supplies within ½ mile of any spill site or potentially affected areas to use only boiled water for cooking, drinking, bathing, laundry, and other personal uses; that those with private water wells should have their water tested and disinfected if necessary before resuming use, and that while disinfection protocols are in place, the public should still avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in spill areas.
“According to a 2022 survey from the Texas Rural Water Association, the average year of installation of small- to medium-sized water systems in the state was 1966.”
Texas Is Not Alone
As stated on Comptroller.Texas.gov in an article published last September, Robert Greer, a professor at Texas A&M, discussed the issues of more people demanding more water and the challenges of Texas’ aging water and wastewater infrastructure.
“We are dealing with aging infrastructure that needs to be replaced or requires costly maintenance,” Greer says.
“Many of the older systems lose water and break often…One piece of evidence of the system breaking down has been the large number of boil water notices that we have seen over the last couple of years.”
Robert Greer Associate Professor and Director, Graduate Certificate in Public Management at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service
Nothing facing the State of Texas today is unique to Texas. Aging water and wastewater infrastructure is everyone’s problem. And it should be noted that in some of the Texas cities included in this article, infrastructure repair or upgrade is underway.
But hardworking teams often struggle to do enough, fast enough, in the face of growing populations and aging systems. And the teams that are on the front lines, fighting to resolve these problems, deserve everyone’s respect, support, and deepest appreciation.
Other topics of interest from Wastewater Visibility News:
- Texas Wastewater Infrastructure Projects Announced by Texas Water Development Board
- How Proactive Wastewater Tank Maintenance Supports Optimized Wastewater Treatment
- Oil and Gas Wastewater: City of Midland, Texas Takes Steps to Protect its Drinking Water
Tags:
More Recent Posts
Subscribe
Get news delivered straight to your inbox the day it gets published."*" indicates required fields
