The city of Round Rock announced March 4 that it is seeking out the source of an increase in wastewater received by the city's Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System Treatment Plant, causing the plant to discharge larger volumes of wastewater than it is permitted to.
This does not impact the city's source of drinking water, but the city may issue guidance for the public use of Brushy Creek following testing for suspended solids and E. coli done by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
“We are working diligently to reach a resolution to this matter, and our top priority right now is finding the exact location of where groundwater or surface water may be entering the system,” Utilities Director Michael Thane said in the announcement. “Our wastewater treatment plant operators have decades of experience working in treatment plants, and they are working around the clock through numerous challenges to reduce our impact on Brushy Creek.”
Increased flow of water, according to a release, may be the result of ground and surface water inadvertently entering the waste water system. Such increases were noted sporadically by city water operations beginning in May 2021, a city report states. Organic solids, also referred to as "total suspended solids," were passed through the plant's clarifiers to Brushy Creek during peak hours. The creek has since been inspected daily by city staff, and TCEQ officials have visited the plant on multiple occasions to confirm its compliance. The plant had been so up until the last week, when intake levels dramatically increased.
