Oops.
A mechanical issue at San Antonio Water System’s biggest treatment plant released an estimated 100,000 gallons of untreated sewage Sunday night, a portion of which made it into the San Antonio River, according to the utility.
The spill occurred at the Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center on the South Side near Loop 1604, SAWS spokeswoman Anne Kenny Hayden said. Workers “quickly” detected and contained the release, she added.
The majority of the untreated sewage remained onsite, but an estimated 20,000 flowed into the San Antonio River, according to Hayden. The release was caused by a valve that opened at the incorrect time. The mechanism has since been repaired, she added.
SAWS reported the spill to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA).
“SARA came out yesterday, and we didn’t find any major issues,” Hayden said. “We didn’t find a fish kill or anything like that.”
The headwaters of the San Antonio River are located north of downtown, meaning Sunday’s sewage release would have been carried southward out of the city. The river eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River north of the Gulf of Mexico’s San Antonio Bay.
SAWS operates three facilities that discharge treated wastewater into creeks that empty into the San Antonio River.
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This article appears in Dec 26, 2024 – Jan 1, 2025.