Sewage from the city of Wimberley’s sewer system flowed into the Blanco River for at least four hours over the weekend, due to a faulty lag float and an either ineffective or faulty alarm system.
Natalie Meeks noticed the sewage pouring out of a manhole cover on her property around 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. She said she immediately contacted members of the Wimberley City Council, including the mayor, as well as representatives from Professional General Management Services, AquaTexas and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. While representatives from both the city and PGMS responded within hours, the flow of sewage was not stopped until midnight, the morning of Sunday, March 12. It is currently unknown exactly how much sewage ran into the river.
“Right where the sewage was draining, we had lost a cypress tree from the recent storm. So, there was a depression,” Meeks said. “The sewage was spread out and the ground around it was marshy, but the sewage was definitely seeping into that depression. So I’m hoping that it at least filtered [the water] somewhat.”
Meeks said her primary concern was for the safety of swimmers, especially visitors, in the Blanco River.
“The next day when I went out there, there were two little boys playing in the river — swimming, fishing,” she said. “They didn’t know what they were swimming in, and I’m worried that the people downstream don’t either.”
“I filed a formal complaint with the TCEQ, and the woman I spoke with told me this happens all the time — though not necessarily in Wimberley,” Meeks added. “But she said she wouldn’t let her kids swim in natural water for that very reason. And I just thought: ‘Isn’t the TCEQ supposed to be the people protecting our waterways?’” The city said the incident was the first issue with the new sewer system, which has been in place for a little over a year and a half.
“Essentially, there was a lag float that came on,” explained City Administrator Tim Patek. “Something was wrong with it, and it kept kicking the motors on and off. After a while, as a failsafe, the motors stopped working and had to be reset.”
While the main issue was the faulty lag float, the malfunctioning equipment should have been identified long before sewage started seeping out above ground, Patek said.
“There are different floats at different levels in the system,” he explained. “Multiple alarms should have gone off before we got to that point. So, we’re still trying to figure that out and how to ensure that we have better notice in the future.”
Meeks said when she first contacted PGMS, the on-call supervisor was not available.
“The guy that came out said he didn’t even work in wastewater, but no one else was responding,” she said. “To say I’m furious is an understatement. It’s Spring Break, and we’re dumping sewage into what little river we have?”
Mayor Gina Fulkerson said the situation is still ongoing.
“We’re being as conscientious as we can,” she explained. “We’re treating this situation as carefully and seriously as possible. We have a contract with a maintenance company; we’re having conversations with the monitoring company. Right now, we’re making sure steps won’t be missed.”
Patek said while the affected ground was initially treated with bleach, the city, in partnership with PGMS, is checking to see what, if anything, can be done to further neutralize the effects of the leaked sewage.
