Repairs are underway Friday related to an unauthorized discharge of an initial volume of 20,000 gallons of treated wastewater.
The discharge is in a non-residential area approximately one-half mile south of the Harrington Power Generation facility and one-half mile west of Lakeside Drive. No public or private drinking water sources have been identified within one-half of a mile of the spill location. The discharge is not identified as an environmental hazard as the water has been through the full treatment process and has been adequately disinfected.
The final volume of discharge is not yet known pending completion of repairs.
The discharge began on Friday (August 22) at 9:30 a.m. and repairs may be ongoing through the weekend. The cause of the discharge was a break in the line after a minor power supply loss caused pumps to stop. Starting the pumps after the power failure caused a pressure spike which likely damaged the aged line.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been notified of the spill and repair efforts are being conducted by City of Amarillo Wastewater Collections personnel.