A temporary, above-ground bypass line ruptured on Thursday spilling approximately 750,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of wastewater leaked into Prairie Creek from the City of Plano. The line is operated by Miller Pipeline under contract from the City of Plano. A valve was shut off and wastewater flow into the creek was ceased.

Because the leak involved wastewater into a creek, several agencies are now assessing the situation. Besides the City of Plano and the City of Richardson, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) are or will assess the impact and determine additional steps that might be required.

According to the City of Richardson, “Sewer flowed into Richardson's detention facility at Renner and Synergy Drive and from this detention facility; the general contractor pumped the contaminated water into a sanitary sewer manhole near this pond for proper treatment. Wastewater was successfully stopped at the west end of Canyon Creek Dr. just north of Lookout. Sandbags were placed by the general contractor at this downstream flow control structure.”

Work has been going on since Friday. The contractor will be cleaning the creek from the sewer entry point to approximately Canyon Creek Dr at Lookout Dr.

According to the City of Richardson, the spill appears to be contained. Officials said it is limited to north of the spillway near Lookout near hole #2 of the Canyon Creek Country Club.

We will update this story when we learn more.