Fort Worth

Sewer Line Break Sends Raw Sewage Into Fort Worth Creek

300 gallons per minute of sewage were leaking from 24-inch line

A 24-inch sewer line just southwest of Fort Worth broke on Wednesday, sending 300 gallons of raw sewage per minute into a creek that feeds into the Trinity River.

By 6 p.m., Fort Worth city crews managed to contain the discharge into Mary’s Creek in Benbrook, said Fort Worth Water Department spokeswoman Hilda Manrique.

She said crews were confident they stopped the sewage from going into the Trinity River.

The city plans to clean up the mess, Manrique said.

More than 100,000 gallons of sewage spilled out of the pipe, she said.

The Texas Department of Environmental Quality sent investigators to the scene, according to a TCEQ spokesman.

On Thursday the water department told NBC DFW they are focusing on the clean-up and water testing at Mary's Creek. 

Test results should be back on Friday according to Mary Gugliuzza with the water department. 

The owner of the property said he is watching the situation closely.

"The city of Fort Worth called me and said, 'Hey, just wanted to make you aware we're at your property," said Jonathan J-Dub Weisiger. "I said, 'No problem, whatever you need to do to get things under control.'"

Weisiger said he saw the broken pipe earlier in the day.

"It's dumping directly into the creek," he said.

Gugliuzza also said the pipe, which was once buried, collapsed after it was exposed during recent flooding and the ground underneath was no longer supporting the pipe.

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