There has been yet another wastewater spill at the Hollywood Road Wastewater Treatment Facility located at 3700 S.E. Loop 335. The spill occurred Tuesday (Oct. 3) at approximately 10:30 p.m. and was contained at 4 a.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 4).
The discharge was caused by flow and organics loading overburdening the treatment system. Approximately 97,913 gallons of partially treated wastewater was released into Playa Lake 40 located on the HRWTF grounds.
Disinfection of the discharge by the addition of chlorine disinfection tablets into the runoff as it traveled to Playa Lake 40 is complete.
A wastewater spill also occurred Monday (Oct. 2) at approximately 11 p.m. and was contained at 4 a.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 3). The discharge was caused by flow and organics loading overburdening the treatment system.
The discharge released 224,757 gallons of partially treated wastewater into Playa Lake 40 located on the HRWTF grounds.
Disinfection of the discharge by the addition of chlorine disinfection tablets into the runoff as it traveled to Playa Lake 40 is complete.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been notified about both incidents and is working with the city to minimize environmental impacts.
An emergency procurement to remove sludge from the equalization basin at the HRWTF began in September. Assistant City Manager Floyd Hartman gave a detailed presentation to Amarillo City Council on Sept. 12 detailing the condition of HRWTF, which was built in 1965.
“The issues at the Hollywood Road plant did not occur overnight,” said Mayor Cole Stanley. “These are ongoing maintenance and repair issues that have existed for decades through numerous city council administrations. This council recognizes the need to respond and address these longstanding issues at this facility.”
The recently approved 2023-2024 COA budget includes $17 million for repair/improvement projects at HRWTF.
HRWTF is the only facility in the Amarillo area for septic waste disposal and is available for septic waste disposal from outside the city limits. The River Road Wastewater Plant, built in 1927, does not have a permit from the state of Texas to accept such waste material.
“There are three primary reasons for the state of the Hollywood Road plant,” said Hartman. “A lack of maintenance that goes back decades, the age of the plant and the recent flooding event that caused significant damage to this facility.”
A portion of the HRWTF is located in a flood plain. The facility was constructed before the flood plain was established.
During the Sept. 12 presentation, six critical projects for HRWTF were identified:
Blowers
Headwork
Overall site electrical
Influent pump station
North secondary clarifiers
Sludge
“These were identified as critical needs to keep the plant in operation before the flooding event,” Hartman said. “At any given time, if we have such problems at this facility then we have to stop accepting waste from haulers. Otherwise this would result in federal and state violations and additional problems.”
The Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are helping the city evaluate the needs at the facility.
In July, several stabilization projects were identified for the HRWTF, including:
Removal, treatment and disposal of contaminated material in the equalization basin, playa remediation
Restoring damaged bar screens
Restoring the grit removal process back to effective operation
Repairing the electrical system in the Motor Control Center.
Tags
Local