Spill from Wastewater Facility into Shackleford Creek

TYLER — On Wednesday evening the City of Tyler Water Utilities experienced a wastewater collection discharge. On Thursday Mike Norris told KTBB, “the discharge will not impact the drinking water of Tyler residents.” The overflow happened within Shackleford Creek and meets the notification requirements of the TCEQ. The discharge is the result of a broken sanitary sewer main allowing rain water to flow into the system and overflow the lift station. The domestic sewage spill was greater than 360,000 gallons.

The city of Tyler says they have taken the following actions…

Appropriate local governmental officials have been notified: Yes
TCEQ regional office has been notified: Yes
The spill has been contained: Yes
Increased monitoring of water supply systems has been initiated: Yes
Corrective Action: Emergency crews are working to locate the line failure

Clean-up activities are underway: Tyler Water Utilities will continue to monitor the water quality conditions upstream and downstream of the discharge for the next few days to ensure that the water quality in Shackleford Creek has not been compromised.

The city also says persons may wish to take the following personal precautions.
Don’t swim in affected area streams, ponds or lakes.
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.
The public should avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in the area potentially affected by the spill.