Harvey caused sewage spills

Millions of gallons of waste leaked, according to state

Nearly 31.6 million gallons of raw sewage spilled across southeast Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, pouring into neighboring communities and waterways as dozens of wastewater treatment plants were hit by high winds and flooding, according to state records.

Most of the sewage spilled in Harris and Fort Bend counties, with 65 separate releases dumping 20.7 million gallons of sewage in Harris County and 11 spills dumping 9.5 million gallons in Fort Bend.

Weeks after the storm hit, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says 10 sewage treatment plants — including six in the Houston area — are inoperable or destroyed, and more than 40 others were operating as of Monday with problems as minor as brokendown pumps or as serious as structural damage.

Thousands of residents, meanwhile, have been told to reduce their use of affected sewage systems by limiting toilet flushes, bathing and laundry as officials work to repair the damaged

facilities, although some of those warnings have since been lifted.

“The magnitude and the nature of this flooding impacted facilities in a way that they could not operationally respond to,” said Andrea Morrow, TCEQ spokeswoman.

The state records — an ongoing tally updated regularly online — offer a glimpse into the widespread damage to wastewater treatment plants, but it’s not clear which communities were affected or which plants were responsible for the spills. TCEQ has not released those details.

Brian Zabcik, clean water advocate for Environment Texas, said the plants’ reports provide an incomplete picture.

“For a lot of reports, no one was able to estimate how much was released,” Zabcik said. “Where there should be a reported volume of sewage released, there’s either a blank or an unknown.”

Submerged in 10 feet of water

Among the plants that remain damaged from the storm include the Turkey Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in west Houston, downstream from the overloaded Addicks and Barker reservoirs, and the Bear Creek Pioneers Park Wastewater Treatment Plant north of the Addicks dam.

Two in Harris County are considered destroyed — the Cedar Bayou Park Wastewater Treatment Plant in Baytown and the McDonough Marine Service plant in Channelview — according to TCEQ.

Others considered inoperable include two in northeast Harris County and plants in Brazoria, Jefferson, Orange and Washington counties.

Overall, the state received reports of 179 spills of sewage. Galveston reported the release of 135,000 gallons of sludge in 15 spills into Galveston Bay last week after equipment failure at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Walker County has reported four spills with 426,000 gallons, and Montgomery County has had 10 spills with 131,200.

The spills add to a problem already plaguing counties decimated by the hurricane: contaminated floodwater. This contaminated water can contain infectious organisms and intestinal bacteria, Morrow said.

The Turkey Creek plant in west Houston was submerged in 10 feet of water, knocking it offline around Aug. 26, the day torrential rains began moving through Houston.

Turkey Creek still is running on backup generators, said Houston Public Works spokeswoman Alanna Reed, which is why the commission listed it as inoperable. The city’s West District plant also flooded but was returned to full working order last week, Reed said.

She did not elaborate on how many residents were without sewer services while the repairs were ongoing.

Bruce Nichols, 71, who lives near both plants, said his neighborhood was asked to limit its water usage for about 10 days while crews worked to get the plants back in operation.

He said he was impressed by how quickly the city got Turkey Creek running again. Reducing water usage, he said, “wasn’t burdensome, it really wasn’t.”

City officials warned Nichols’ neighborhood of potential sewage overflow, but he said it didn’t happen near him. Reed said there were only a few reports of problems, but she did not provide a number.

The Bear Creek area in Katy also reported sewage problems after the wastewater treatment plant was compromised. Students at Bear Creek Elementary School started classes in a local high school.

Repairs to cost millions

In the city of Brazoria in Brazoria County, the sewage treatment plant went offline on Sept. 3 after two feet of water flooded the electrical panels, said David Jordan, the city’s public works director.

The mandatory evacuation ordered by officials lasted until the plant began operating again Sept. 7, he said.

The plant remains on TCEQ’s “inoperable” list because officials have been unable to test the water for ammonia, oxygen and other components, he said Tuesday. The first samples were set to be sent for testing Wednesday.

As many as 3,000 city residents could have been affected by the plant shutdown, but he said he did not know how many stayed behind during the evacuation.

The state commission has not released details about how many total facilities were downed at the peak of the storm.

Morrow said TCEQ worked quickly to bring as many facilities back online as possible, providing resources such as staff, equipment and contractors. She said the commission is also diverting wastewater where possible from downed facilities to those that are working, though she did not provide details about how those transfers are being done.

When Turkey Creek was overtaken by water on Aug. 26, Reed said city officials met with oil and gas companies to strategize how to get the floodwaters out of the plant.

They considered several options, such as pumping the water, but eventually decided to wait for the water to recede, she said.

Once it did, Reed said cleanup crews worked 24/7 to clean the plant, making sure all electrical components were in good working order. Generators and transformers had to be replaced, and power needed to be restored to certain parts of the plant, she added.

City officials still are calculating the cost of these fixes, but have said it will be in the millions of dollars.

Reed was unsure how these fixes would be paid for, but Morrow said there are many resources available, including from the Texas Department of Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Texas Water Infrastructure Coordination Committee.