PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The City of Port Arthur is notifying residents of a wastewater spill near Procter Street.
On Wednesday, May 8, 2024 around 11:00 a.m. workers at the main lift station on Procter noticed water bubbling out of a ditch.
The city notified residents that there was an unauthorized spill of domestic wastewater.
The suspected cause of the spill is an old pipe that leaked and a break in the service line from the lift station to the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which required an emergency repair.
"We discovered we had a leak in the pipe between the lift station and the treatment plant. It was kind of bubbling up through the ground," said City of Port Arthur's Director of Water Utilities Calvin Matthews.
The spill happened near 5500 Procter Street in an open field on city property, according to the city.
"This station handles about 70% of the city," said Matthews. "To repair it, we had to shut the lift station down."
This is the second major sewage problem at the wastewater plant in less than a year. In July 2023, the same plant suffered a 2.5 million gallon sewage spill.
Wednesday's 3 million gallons of wastewater ended up in the same canal where last summer's 2.5 million gallons spilled.
Matthews says the city is working as fast as they can to complete a $64 million upgrade.
The main lift station is about a half mile down Procter from the main treatment plant. The line that connects them is part of the city's planned upgrade.
The area that the city says is potentially affected includes the open area lift station and into Jefferson Drainage District Canal No. 7 Canal.
"To prevent sewage from coming out in manholes and people's houses we bypassed the pump to the DD7 drainage pump next to the lift station," Matthews told 12News.
During the emergency repair, wastewater that was flowing into the lift station had to be diverted to the nearby Jefferson County Drainage Ditch No. 7 canal to prevent massive overflow and severe damage to the lift station, according to the city.
The city says that the repair was completed and the bypass was stopped.
"We chlorinated the discharge. It was raw wastewater, but it was chlorinated into the channel to keep it away from people," said Matthews.
Matthews says there is no danger to the public and aquatic life near the canal should be unaffected.
"The TCEQ came out today and inspected that section of the ship channel. We found no dead fish or any sign that there was an impact," he said.
Matthews hopes the outdated equipment will hold until renovations are complete.
"We are ready to react as soon as it happens to minimize any risk to public health and safety," Matthews said.
He's optimistic the line that caused Wednesday's spill will be fully replaced by January 2025.