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Flooding causes sewage spill in Aransas Pass; private water wells possibly affected

Storm water got into the sanitary sewer system during heavy rains this week and caused a sewer overflow, officials said.

ARANSAS PASS, Texas — Residents in Aransas Pass using private drinking water supply wells within half a mile of S. Rife St. and W. Greenwood Ave. are being told to boil their water before cooking, bathing and brushing teeth due to a sewage spill after heavy rainfall on Tuesday.

Director of Public Works for Aransas Pass, David Flores, said recent heavy rains caused the sewage overflow after storm water got into their sanitary sewer system. 

"Rainwater gets into our sewer system and our sewer system starts to struggle from processing the, the waste," Flores said. "So, that’s what happened here. We had some infiltration; we had some sewer overflow."

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Aransas Pass residents were notified of the potential contamination. Those who drink, cook, bathe and brush their teeth with well water are urged to do a rolling boil—when water is vigorously boiling.

"Anybody within a half a mile radius from this location, if you have a private well, we are recommending for you to do a, a water boil, rolling boil for one minute,” Flores said.

La Risa Rios lives in the neighborhood where the sewage overflow happened. She said streets were also flooded because of Tuesday’s rain.

“It was overflowed," Rios said. "I actually had a few friends that couldn’t get out of their residence cause they didn’t want to hurt their car.”

A program created by Flores to address overflow issues was approved by the city and will see 80 brick manholes relined a year to minimize how much groundwater gets in. 

Flores said Aransas Pass has 250 brick manholes, so putting a coating on them can help prevent overflow in the future.

“It is very proactive, especially whenever we’re going to have hurricane season coming up soon and I would hate for something as small as this few inches of water to put us under, and to think what a hurricane could do,” Rios said.

Residents who purchase water from Aransas Pass is safe to drink and use, officials said.

The spill happened in the S. Rife St. and W. Greenwood Ave. area, which was immediately disinfected with calcium hypochlorite and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was immediately contacted, according to Flores. 

Here are the precautions residents should take, according to officials:

  1. Persons using private drinking water supply wells located within 1/2 mile of 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. 
  2. 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.
  3. The public should avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in the area potentially affected by the spill.
  4. 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. 

Residents who have any questions can call the Public Works Utility Department at 361-758-3111 ext. 3124.

Credit: City of Aransas Pass

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