Lift Station equipment failure causes wastewater spill into Blanco River

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

SAN MARCOS — An equipment failure at a City Wastewater Lift Station, located in the 2200 block of River Road, caused untreated wastewater to discharge near the Blanco River in the late evening hours of Monday, June 27, 2022. The City’s water supply was not affected by the spill.

The Lift Station moves sewage to the City’s treatment plant. As a result of the equipment failure, the City’s monitoring system indicates approximately 225,000 gallons of untreated wastewater overflowed. SMTX Utilities personnel responded to the equipment failure at 9:15 p.m. and corrected the issue by 10 p.m. As of this release, the lift station is operating normally.

The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has been notified. As required by Texas Administrative Code §319.303, this notice serves to inform the public of the following:

Persons using private drinking water supply wells located within 1/2-mile of the spill site or within 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, prior to discontinuing distillation or boiling.

Persons who purchase water from a public water supply may contact their water supply distributor to determine if the water is safe for personal use. The public should avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in the area potentially affected by the spill. If the public comes into contact with waste material, soil, or water potentially affected by the spill, they should bathe and wash clothes thoroughly as soon as possible.

This article was updated to provide a clarification to the location of the waste spill, according to the City of San Marcos. 

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One Comment

  1. Well it looks like the city dropped the ball on this one. No one in this area even new about this spill. We live downstream from this pump station. The house closest to the pump station is a vacation rental. For the last month, there has been kids and pets down in the water. You would think the city would notify the local area of the dangerous situation in their back yard. Not just a post in the paper hoping someone would read (maybe even a note on the local doors). I sure hope no one went home after his or her vacation and got severely ill, and did not knowing the cause.

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