Texans Sue City Over Treated Wastewater Releases
In Central Texas, an ongoing battle between residents and wastewater treatment operations is becoming increasingly litigious.
As the region continues to develop and grow in population, an increasing number of cities are disposing of treated wastewater into source bodies. Though this is a standard way of sustaining water systems, local residents are pushing back.
“One of the biggest concerns with all the growth in Central Texas is wastewater and what to do with it,” KVUE reported. “For years … [a] growing number of cities [is] dumping treated wastewater into the rivers and lakes where we get our drinking water and enjoy with our families. Now, the fight against it is landing some cities in court.”
The local Liberty Hill wastewater treatment plant, for instance, has state permission to dump 1.2 MGD of treated wastewater into the San Gabriel River, per KVUE. But it has exceeded this limit nearly 100 times since 2015 and racked up 50 permit violations cited by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Likely due to the fact that it must discharge a growing amount of wastewater as the population increases, the state has allowed Liberty Hill to expand its operation and discharge to 4 MGD.
But concern about source water quality has driven a local resident to file a lawsuit intent against the treatment operation, detailing legal violations.
“According to a legal notice, the facility has violated the allowable chemical nutrient levels it can release into the river 3,018 times since November 2015,” according to KVUE. “It also exceeded phosphorous limits at least 994 days between November 2015 and July 2020 and exceeded ammonia nitrogen limits for at least 1,070 days between November 2015 and February 2020.”
The report went on to note that 2,622 wastewater treatment plants have permits to discharge treated wastewater into source bodies across Texas, and that 49,500 operations are permitted to do so across the U.S.
Though it may ultimately drive up the presence of nutrients and other contaminants in source water, and irk residents, wastewater treatment plants are ultimately responsible for cleaning and discharging influent. But a potential solution that may work for everyone can be found in wastewater reuse plans.
“There are other ways to handle treated wastewater,” KVUE reported. “Cities … reuse treated wastewater to irrigate parks and golf courses. It costs more upfront, but studies show it is safer than dumping directly into waterways.”
To read more about the rules behind wastewater treatment discharge, visit Water Online’s Wastewater Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.