New Braunfels Utilities crews responded to a sanitary sewer overflow May 27 after a storm system caused a temporary power outage at the Rio Bar Screening Facility, which resulted in an unauthorized discharge of about 550,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into the Guadalupe River.
What you need to know
There is no impact on NBU’s drinking water system, according to a May 27 news release. NBU is communicating with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and following all required reporting and notification procedures related to the incident, the release states.
NBU is also coordinating with the city of New Braunfels, neighboring agencies and downstream water purveyors to inform them of the occurrence. NBU CEO Ryan Kelso said they have begun implementing additional measures to strengthen their systems to reduce the likelihood of a similar event, which include:
- Identifying critical facilities near environmentally sensitive areas
- Increasing testing and verification of backup systems and alarms
- Reviewing the planning, communication and approval processes surrounding maintenance activities at critical facilities
- Enhancing staffing and monitoring capabilities during severe weather events
How it happenedThe Rio Lift Station is designed with two independent power sources from separate substations to provide electricity during outages. During a storm, lightning struck one substation, and the second power source was unavailable due to planned maintenance scheduled before the storm. Since both power sources were unavailable, the facility experienced a complete loss of power, according to a May 29 statement from Kelso.
The facility is also equipped with a backup battery system designed to power the system that alerts the utility company’s control center if power is lost. This allows crews to respond immediately. However, the alarm system did not work as intended, and NBU teams were not notified that the facility lost power.
NBU electric crews and system operators were responding to widespread storm-related outages affecting 3,400 electric customers, Kelso said in the statement. The system failure was discovered by personnel investigating those outages, which is when wastewater crews were immediately dispatched to respond.
Crews restored power to the facility to avoid additional outages and damage to equipment elsewhere. Wastewater personnel began assessing site conditions and coordinating response efforts to minimize impacts, which included disinfecting affected areas and collecting water samples upstream and downstream of the discharge location.
Kelso said the Guadalupe River is central to life in New Braunfels.
“We know trust is earned, especially when things do not go as planned. We are committed to being transparent about what happened, what we are learning and the steps we are taking to strengthen your systems moving forward,” Kelso said in the May 29 statement.
