The North Texas Municipal Water District is cleaning up sewage from Lavon Lake after one of its plants lost power and discharged untreated water on Wednesday.
According to the NTMWD, the Wilson Creek Regional Wastewater Plant, located at 3020 Orr Road in Allen, had a power outage Dec. 26 during heavy thunderstorms.
The treatment process was incomplete and just under 28,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was spilled at the site and flowed into Lavon Lake.
Joey Ledbetter was out on the lake on Saturday and recorded a video of the sewage.
"It's really bad and it's hundreds of yards of it," Ledbetter said. "There's chunks floating in the water, there's condoms, baggies, all kinds of things floating in the water."
Crews have been deployed to the lake to isolate and clean up the contaminated water.
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"The water is safe," said Mike Rickman, department director for the North Texas Municipal Water District.
According to the NTMWD, water that has already been treated by the plant is safe, however, those who use private drinking water supplies such as wells that are located within a 1/2 mile of the spill site should distill or boil their water before use.
"We are putting the booms in place, we're doing the testing and if there's corrective action needed we'll take that action," Rickman said.
People should avoid contact with the discharged waste material in the lake and if anyone has come in contact with the material, they are advised to bathe and wash their clothes thoroughly and as soon as possible.
