The city of Dallas restored water recreation activities on White Rock Lake this weekend after suspending activities because of 1.5 million gallons of sewage that spilled in from Plano more than a week ago.
Fishing, rowing and boating can resume. Swimming's not allowed on the lake, but the White Rock Lake dog park is again open to pets.
Test samples showed water in Plano’s White Rock Creek was back to normal last week , according to a city of Plano official. Plano spokesperson Steve Stoler told KERA News Friday that the city determined no additional monitoring or cleanup along the creek was necessary.
“That particular day on Tuesday, we had put up some warning signs showing that that was a sewage overflow area,” Stoler said. “And when everything tested well, the signs were taken down.”
No public drinking water was affected by the spillage, according to the city of Dallas.
According to Dallas Water Utilities test results, water sampling shows results fell within pre-spill levels. The city cautioned that recent rainfall could add additional pollutants to the water, and that DWU would continue taking water samples through Friday.
Hunter Stephens, assistant deputy for wastewater, conveyance and treatment at the North Texas Municipal Water District, said he can’t speak to how much of the sewage water ended up in White Rock Lake.
The sanitary sewer overflow started on March 14 because of a valve failure at a pump station at the North Texas Municipal Water District’s Lower White Rock Creek lift station, Stephens said. That let water enter the pump and motor compartment, which caused them to shut down.
Officials began pumping water into the creek to dilute the spillage. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality staff responded to the spill March 15, spokesperson Richard Richter said in an email, and the city also used dechlorination tablets in the water.
The district said it’s still investigating what led to that initial valve failure. Stephens said the details of any potential TCEQ fines the district could face for the spill are still under review.
“Since the event occurred, in our response efforts to set up temporary pumping to allow the overflows to stop, we've made significant progress on restoring the site to almost full capacity,” Stephens said. “The lift station is operational currently, and we anticipate we can wrap up full repairs within the next week or so.”
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