Extended rainfall in Texas causes landslide and pipeline failure

Persistent, heavy rainfall and high-river flows caused a riverbank landslide along a section of the West Fork of the Trinity River in Grand Prairie, Texas. The river bank, approximately 70 feet wide and 100 feet long, including trees and vegetation, fell into the river breaking a 100-foot section of a 60-inch wastewater pipeline which resulted in an untreated wastewater spill into the West Fork. The landslide occurred about a quarter mile west of the point at which Roy Orr Boulevard crosses...

July 26, 2007

2 min read

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX, July 24, 2007 -- Persistent, heavy rainfall and high-river flows caused a riverbank landslide along a section of the West Fork of the Trinity River in Grand Prairie, Texas. The river bank, approximately 70 feet wide and 100 feet long, including trees and vegetation, fell into the river breaking a 100-foot section of a 60-inch wastewater pipeline which resulted in an untreated wastewater spill into the West Fork. The landslide occurred about a quarter mile west of the point at which Roy Orr Boulevard crosses the West Fork.

The Trinity River Authority implemented an emergency repair immediately upon learning of the pipeline failure at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24 and activities will continue around the clock until the repair is completed.

In the interim, a portion of the wastewater flow in the pipeline upstream of the break is being diverted to the City of Fort Worth's Village Creek Wastewater System to reduce the volume and impact of wastewater discharged to the river.

The pipeline that failed is one of a system of pipes that transport wastewater from portions of the Cities of Arlington, Bedford, Euless, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and Hurst to the Central Regional Wastewater System's plant in Grand Prairie.

TRA has deployed a water quality monitoring team to take samples from the Trinity River to test for any environmental impacts.

TRA has notified the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) of this discharge to the river. TCEQ will be apprised of final outflow volume when the repair is complete.

While highly undesirable, the impact to water quality is minimized by dilution with large volumes of floodwater in the West Fork. Outflow from the pipeline constitutes less than one percent of the total volume of water in the river at that location.

Downstream, the water is further diluted by floodwaters being released in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. No public water supplies are threatened or anticipated to be contaminated by this pipeline overflow.

For more information, see: http://www.trinityra.org/Press%20Releases/about_press_07_24_07.htm

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