Five of six pumps shut down during the recent heavy rains. Before power was restored, nine million gallons of sewage mixed with storm water were intentionally discharged into the Trinity River. This action was taken to prevent upstream homes and buildings from flooding with sewage and to minimize damage to the pump station and collection system. No drinking water intakes were affected by the spill , but the Trinity River does flow into other water supplies downstream. The City of Dallas faces possible fines for not alerting the public to potential danger from the spill, and the city manager is conducting an investigation to determine if there was any operator error or employee negligence associated with the incident.
Staff says that recent rains have largely diluted the sewage.
As far as we can tell there was absolutely no environmental damage as a result of the spill, said Terrace Stewart, Director of Dallas Water Utilities. Usually if there is damage done, you get into things like fish kills and those sorts of things, and we ve not noticed that. The City of Dallas has been planning for two years to reconstruct the dam. The city has selected Jones and Boyd, Inc. to repair the dam. To perform the required work on the spillway, a new bypass for the hike and bike trail will be required to keep the trail open during construction.