Warrant from HPD reveals alleged tampering inside Kingwood water plant after sewage disposal error

KINGWOOD, Texas (KTRK) -- A wastewater plant in Kingwood has been accused of dumping sewage into a creek that leads to a primary source of Houston's drinking water, according to court documents.

On Feb. 17, the Houston Police Department raided the plant on Kingwood Drive after neighbors complained of a foul odor that had blanketed the area for weeks.

RELATED: HPD searched Kingwood wastewater plant amid allegations of falsified documents

A newly released court document accuses the plant's operator of tampering with samples to make it appear like sewage was treated correctly before it was released into Bens Branch.

That waterway goes straight into Lake Houston- one of the city's main drinking water sources.

It is important to note that it is treated at different plants before the water comes through Houston residents' faucets.

The Houston Public Works has confirmed the water is safe in Kingwood and everywhere else.

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"At no point was untreated sewage released from the plant," a spokesperson from Inframark, the company that operates the plant in Kingwood, said.

Questions remain: What does the evidence reveal? And why is the plant being accused of releasing sewage?

It is based on what investigators saw when they were inside the plant. There were also claims that treatment systems were not operating correctly. The wastewater was allegedly heavily discolored and filled with "solids and foam."

A spokesperson from Houston Public Works spoke to ABC13's partners at the Houston Chronicle and said the raw sewage did not bypass the facility and get into the water completely untouched.

But the department described the plant's operations as "substandard."

The investigation is still ongoing.