Notice of wastewater facility spill

TYLER — The City of Tyler Water Utilities has experienced a wastewater collection discharge at the Westside Treatment Plant that meets the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) public notification requirements, according to a City of Tyler news release. The discharge is due to severe thunderstorms with high winds causing widespread damage to power lines, creating a power outage on both directional feed lines. The reported domestic sewage spill, involving 3,953,070 gallons, happened around 10:30 Monday night at Black Fork Creek, south of the Westside Treatment Plant, 14792 County Road 46, Tyler.

Appropriate local governmental officials have been notified along with the
TCEQ regional office. The spill has been contained and the cause of the spill has been corrected. Clean-up activities are underway. Oncor has indicated that it may take three days to restore full power to the plant.

PERSONS MAY WISH TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS:

• Don’t swim in the affected area’s streams, ponds, or lakes.
• Persons using private drinking water supply wells located within half a mile of the spill site or the potentially affected area should use only water that has been distilled or boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute for all personal uses, including drinking, cooking, bathing, and tooth brushing. Individuals with private water wells should have their well water tested and disinfected, if necessary, before discontinuing distillation or boiling.
• The public should avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in the area potentially affected by the spill.