KILLEEN, Texas (FOX 44) – UPDATE: The City of Killeen’s Public Works Department has confirmed a lift station and the entire sewer collection system is back to normal operations.

This comes following a sewage leak southeast of Texas A&M Central Texas, adjacent to Reece Creek, which was reported on Sunday, June 4. The spill was contained by Monday, June 5.

TTG Construction completed the repair on Tuesday evening. The City of Killeen says the system was back to normal just before 9 a.m. Wednesday. Crews confirmed this was caused by the rupture of a domestic force main pipe.

The City says that on Wednesday morning, staff monitored air relief valves along the force main after a pump at the lift station was turned on. The valves were releasing the air out of the force main, as they are designed to do. By 8:15 a.m., the manhole near the repair site that was overflowing stopped overflowing.

The Environmental Team notified 50 property owners who have water wells adjacent to the creek. TTG is scheduled to complete final backfilling and cleanup by the end of Wednesday. The Environmental Team, with help from the City’s Mowing and Drainage division, will continue sampling water in the creek at the selected sites and will monitor the stretch of the creek looking for any adverse impacts to wildlife.

City staff has worked continuously since the discovery, and worked closely with environmental agencies and additional contractors to resolve the leak. Crews immediately responded on Sunday by digging containment pits and redirecting sewage from this lift station to another location to avoid the line while repairs were made, and increased monitoring of water supply systems by taking samples.

The community was also urged to refrain from swimming or fishing in Reece Creek until further
notice. Residents in the area were urged to use private drinking water supply wells located within a half-mile of the spill site, or to use only water which was distilled or boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute for all personal uses – including drinking, cooking, bathing and brushing teeth.

The City of Killeen notified the Bell County Water Control & Improvement District #1, Texas A&M Central Texas University, Bell County, Texas Parks & Wildlife and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The TCEQ says the spill came from Lift Station #20 in the City of Killeen, located at 1001 Leadership Place. 125,000 gallons was estimated to have spilled.