In Garland, city crews are testing the murky waters of a creek after multiple reports from neighbors. Neighbors said clear waters began to turn white as of Wednesday.
The creek starts near the 2400 block of Lonnecker Drive where crews were seen replacing water lines. The unidentified contaminant spread throughout 1.5 miles of the creek ending near Tinsley Park off Anita Drive and Saturn Road.
“It looked like snow at first,” Robert Hankins said. Hankins has lived in his Garland home along the creek for more than 20 years. “So, I went over there and looked. It was really, really milky.”
Hankins said he could also see a lot of suds.
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His neighbor, Stephen Yearout said he could smell something in the water.
“Latex paint,” Yearout said. “Like a chemical smell.”
Concerned about the possible harmful effects on wildlife, Hankins made a report to the city of Garland.
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“I just thought, that don't look right,” Hankins said.
In a post on Facebook, the city of Garland said in part, “Immediately, our Health and Water Utilities staff responded to test the water, and nothing hazardous was identified.”
Within 24 hours, city crews built a dirt dam near Saturn Road and Anita Drive to contain the water. On Thursday afternoon, employees with the City of Garland Waste Water Services were collecting more samples as the contaminated water was flushed into the sanitary sewer.
“Beyond this preliminary testing, the City is partnering with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to conduct a more comprehensive analysis,” the city said in the statement. “We are also working with TCEQ to determine the source of the cloudy water.”
To return the creek to its “natural” state, the city said they would release fresh water upstream. For hours Thursday, multiple fire hydrants blasted fresh water into the creek.
“We keep getting told that there's nothing here, there's no danger,” Yearout said.
Yearout said he is weary of the information shared by the city.
“This is a sample of water that I collected yesterday,” Yearout said.
Placed inside a Ziploc bag, Yearout held a mason jar filled with cloudy water. He said he plans to get it independently tested.
While the cause of the cloudy water has not been determined by the city, they said “there is not believed to be any breaks in City water and wastewater lines.”
The city of Garland said all updates from the investigation will be shared on its social media channels.
