Galveston County residents concerned about canal water safety after discharge in facility
GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Video showing discharge from a wastewater treatment facility has residents in Bayou Vista concerned after seeing troubles in the past.
They're questioning how safe the water is for fishing and other recreational activities is.
The issue has been resolved, but based on the past, people are still worried.
The cell phone video was recorded on Nov. 17. ABC13 did receive a response from the attorney with Municipal Utility District 12, the agency that runs the facility.
Galveston MUD 12 said it takes all residents' concerns seriously and will always respond promptly and transparently.
A resident reported thicker than usual discharge on the morning of Nov. 17 from an outfall pipe. The district immediately identified the issue as a downed return flow pump at a wastewater treatment plant chlorine contact basin. This caused a thicker-than-normal flow of treated effluent through the discharge pipe.
The Texas Commission on Environment Quality was on site that morning and found no violation of treatment standards. No untreated effluent was discharged, no overflows occurred, and no harm occurred to the waters of Galveston Bay.
The district has consistently worked to improve its water and wastewater systems. This event is confirmation that recent improvements to the district's facilities have increased the health and safety of its systems.
To make sure there is full public transparency, the district posted all available information related to this event on its website, including the state's TCEQ test results and the findings from their investigation, indicating that no violation occurred and the effluent was well within safe standards.
Furthermore, the board of directors for the district met with members of the public at its regularly scheduled Nov. 18 public meeting to address any concerns regarding the reported event. The above-stated facts were discussed with the public in attendance and will appear in the official minutes of the meeting. The residents who attended expressed satisfaction with the district's transparency and constant efforts to maintain and improve its facilities.
According to MUD 12's website, the issues have been resolved. According to court documents from the TCEQ, MUD 12 was fined in 2021 and 2024 for violations. That's why residents still have concerns and want to see long-term solutions.
"It's definitely going to happen again, so the MUD, down the street, part of it is the infrastructure. It was built a long time ago, and we just haven't invested the money into fixing the problem, so there's no doubt in my mind it'll happen again," Shawn Stockton said.
