Updated 4:02 p.m. Nov. 3

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a notice of violation Oct. 31 to the city of Magnolia regarding its wastewater treatment facility at 30910 Nichols Sawmill Road, according to an investigation report from the TCEQ. However, City Administrator Paul Mendes claimed Friday that the city has already corrected the violation and improved its wastewater quality to comply with requirements set by the TCEQ.

"All violations have already been corrected," Mendes said. "Right now both plants are up and running very good. We're happy with the way they're performing."

UPDATE: TCEQ issues notice of violation Oct. 31 to city of Magnolia for wastewater treatment facility
Updated 10:16 a.m. Nov. 3

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a notice of violation Oct. 31 to the city of Magnolia regarding its wastewater treatment facility at 30910 Nichols Sawmill Road, according to the TCEQ database.

The city's facility failed to maintain compliance with the permitted limits of sewage discharged into a body of water, according to the TCEQ. The citation was issued in accordance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code, which states, "Except as authorized by the [TCEQ], no person may: discharge sewage, municipal waste, recreational waste, agricultural waste, or industrial waste into or adjacent to any water in the state."

Additionally, Chapter 305 of the Texas Administrative Code states," The permittee has a duty to comply with all permit conditions. Failure to comply with any permit condition is a violation of the permit and statutes under which it was issued and is grounds for enforcement action, for permit amendment, revocation or suspension, or for denial of a permit renewal application or an application for a permit for another facility."

According to the TCEQ database, the TCEQ last issued a notice of violation to Magnolia in September 2014 for a similar allegation, which was resolved.

Magnolia works to restore, expand wastewater capacity amid multiple complaints of odors
Posted 7 a.m. Nov. 2

The city of Magnolia worked to repair one of its wastewater treatment facilities in October after Hurricane Harvey left the plant on Nichols Sawmill Road filled with sand, City Administrator Paul Mendes said.

Before Harvey, the city’s other facility was down for repairs necessitated by heavy rains in spring 2016, he said.

“We finally got that straightened out and all repaired, and no sooner than we got that one up, we had Harvey,” Mendes said. “We got a break somewhere in our [sewer] lines that basically filled [plant] No. 2 with sand.”

The sand blocked the facility’s aeration—or breathing—system, causing an odor to build up, Mendes said during a City Council meeting Oct. 10.

As one of the city’s plants was closed for repairs before and after Harvey, the city has been working with half its normal wastewater capacity, Mendes said.

“That only gives us 50 percent of our capacity, which would be enough to handle what we’ve got, but with schools in session and so forth, it puts a greater load on us,” he said.

Multiple local residents expressed concerns about an odor via social media and filed formal complaints with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Montgomery County Environmental Health Services between August and October, noting the smell appeared before Harvey, which hit the area Aug. 25-29.

“I live right behind the plant, and we have had this problem for months. It’s especially bad at night,” said Trish Bilbo, a Magnolia resident for five years. “We have many homes and schools around this area, and I fear for our health and safety.”

The wastewater plant is located near Magnolia ISD campuses and residential communities, such as Glen Oaks, Grand Oaks and Magnolia Pines RV Park.

TCEQ has jurisdiction over municipal wastewater systems, said Scott Nichols, director of Environmental Health for the county.

“The TCEQ has received a total of [seven] complainant calls since Aug. 1 [to Oct. 26] regarding odors and alleging that the water in a creek is uncharacteristically smelly and black in the vicinity of the city’s wastewater treatment plant,” TCEQ Media Relations Manager Andrea Morrow said. “The TCEQ has ongoing investigations, and [acknowledges] that this plant has some operational issues as a result of impacts from Hurricane Harvey.”

Mendes said sewer plants and lift stations of other entities release wastewater into the same creek as the city.

“There were other sewer plants in the area—one was a sewer plant, one was a lift station—that [were] actually dumping raw sewage into the same creek we do, and we picked up the blame for that one,” he said. “We have had TCEQ in and out of here probably every other week talking with us, working with us, and if we were dumping raw sewage or anything that was harmful to that stream, they would be on us like a bird on a June bug.”

Magnolia’s plant discharges treated wastewater into Arnold Branch Creek, which flows to Spring Creek via Mink Branch and Walnut creeks, according to the TCEQ.

Magnolia residents with wastewater concerns can contact the city, Mendes said. Council members will meet for a workshop in November to discuss expanding wastewater capacity from 650,000 gallons to nearly 2 million gallons. This would allow the city to accommodate new developments.

“I’d be lying if I said you didn’t have an occasional odor, but it’s not bad,” Mendes said. “We try very hard to keep it operating properly and efficiently. Every so often you have maintenance problems beyond your control, and you’ve got to do just the best you can, and that’s where we are right now.”