Activities are now resuming around White Rock Lake after a sewage spill upstream earlier this month. The City of Plano and North Texas Municipal Water District say 1.5 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled into White Rock Creek from March 14 through March 18.
Plano and the water district say a valve failed at a water lift station. When the station flooded, the organizations say motors and electrical systems were damaged, leading to the release of untreated sewage.
The leak did not affect Plano's drinking water, and the water district says the spill did not lead to damage to White Rock Creek or wildlife.
Dallas Parks and Recreation did stop activities around White Rock Lake March 19 after testing showed elevated bacteria levels. Sunday, Dallas Water Utilities said sampling results had returned to "normal weather related, pre-incident levels."
Dallas Parks and Recreation says the lake has now reopened for hiking, boating and fishing. The dog park has also reopened. The city never allows swimming in the lake.
Dallas Water Utilities will keep testing bacteria levels and White Rock Lake through Friday to make sure they stay within a normal range.
"The recent rainfall can present pollutants including bacteria in the lake," the agency wrote in a statement.
The parks department says it will reintroduce restrictions if water quality worsens either as a result of issues upstream or rainfall.
The North Texas Municipal Water District says the lift station was built in 1976, expanded in 1987 and "underwent a significant upgrade and renewal completed in 2020, which included all new electrical systems, pumps, and valves."
The City of Plano says it participates in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's "Sanitary Sewer Overflow Initiative."
"This helps identify the sources of our SSOs and how we proactively address them," the city said when addressing the overflow last week.
Plano says it has inspected 65% of sewer mains, finished cleaning 88% of sewer mains, and inspected 94% of manholes.
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