TYLER, Texas - Crews worked to stop thousands of gallons of raw sewage from spilling into Black Fork Creek, Friday.
Michael Norris, Manager of Tyler Wastewater Utilities says their main goal today was to stop the wastewater from flowing into the creek.
The city has hired A. E. Shull & Company to contain the waste by installing two bypass pumps. Those pumps will help re-route the waste to another manhole so that it can flow to one of Tyler's wastewater treatment plants.
"We are having to haul in the pumps, haul in the hoses, so it is taking some time," Norris added.
Norris says the pumps should be installed and running by 5 p.m. Friday evening.
"There are some permits that will have to be obtained from Texas Parks and Wildlife, so it could take up to a week or more with the holidays next week, probably more," Norris said. "It is quite an involved process."
On Thursday, the city of Tyler informed residents that more than 100,000 gallons of waste may have spilled into the surrounding area of Black Fork Creek at FM 427.
Norris says this incident does not have any affect on the city of Tyler's drinking water.
"The state requires if you have a private water well within 1/2 a mile of a sewage spill, they recommend that you boil your water," he added.
The city has not located any wells within a 1/2 a mile of this location.
In regards to repairing the leak, "it's going to take some time, it's not going to be overnight," Norris said.
The city of Tyler experienced another spill from a wastewater facility last year during the month of June. That discharge happened at West Northwest Loop 323 and Texas College Road.
Heavy rains and 'aging infrastructure' likely played a role in both failures.
According to Norris, while it isn't common for 42 inch lines to fail, it does happen.
While it may take a couple of weeks to repair the failure, with the pumps installed, there should not be any wastewater flowing into the creek while its being repaired.
RAW INTERVIEW, Michael Norris, Tyler Wastewater Utilities Manager
You might recall the 2016 Wastewater Collection Consent Decree reached between the city of Tyler and the Environmental Protection Agency two years ago.
The 88-page document outlines upgrades the city needs to make to its wastewater collection system as well as the need for enhancements to the city's existing programs for inspections, maintenance and cleaning of the wastewater system.
The decree went into effect April 10, 2017.
While there are some similarities with information stated in the decree, Norris says this incident is not directly connected to the document, except for when you discuss the 'age of the system.'
The wastewater system at Black Fork Creek was originally built in the 1960s.