Solution for Lake Bridgeport sewage spills coming, officials assure Runaway Bay crowd
About 150 residents crowded into a meeting room at the Runaway Bay Country Club Monday night where officials, including state legislators, told them they are working on finding funding to fix the small city’s deteriorating sewer lines that lead to sewage leaking into Lake Bridgeport.
Bill and Elizabeth Reynolds were glad to see that the elected officials were meeting with them to help resolve the problem that has been going on for years in the community along Lake Bridgeport.
Bill Reynolds told the Star-Telegram after the meeting that he and his wife live at the bottom of a hill, and that they often see sewage spilling into the lake.
“I’m friends with the mayor, and I call him every time the sewer runs over,” he said. “The city is out there just as soon as I call.”
But Reynolds said he is concerned about the ongoing sewer line leaks. He described seeing a leak on Monday morning before it started raining.
The sewage comes from a manhole above Reynolds’ yard and runs into a culvert and then flows into a ditch and often ends up in the lake, he said.
But Reynolds added that things are moving in the right direction to solve the problem.
“I think we’ve got the ball rolling now,” he said.
Funding needed to fix crisis
The Tarrant Regional Water District says that monitoring stations show that there aren’t high contamination levels to affect drinking water downstream in cities like Fort Worth, but Mayor Herman White says he’s dealing with a crisis that needs an immediate fix.
Wise County Judge J.D. Clark told the Wise County Messenger that water districts “rigorously” treat the water before it goes into the supply. But there is a concern because the lake is also used for recreation and irrigation.
The Tarrant Regional Water District owns the lake. The district’s monitoring program has not detected any impacts to water quality, according to spokesperson Chad Lorance. The district supplies raw water to 2.3 million people in 11 North Texas counties.
White, who moved to Runaway Bay in the 1980s, said the city started out as a resort community during the 1960s, but the developers did not put plans in place to maintain the sewer lines that deteriorated over the years.
In late August, when Wise County got four inches of rain, instead of celebrating a break in the drought, White and other officials worried about the sewage spilling into the lake.
He said the city, located about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth, documented about 100,000 gallons.
White said that $6 million is needed for an emergency fix, but it will take around $80 million to repair all of the problems.
During Monday night’s meeting, State Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, who is in the District 12 state Senate race, told the audience that he has spoken to several Texas representatives in Washington, D.C., including Kay Granger and Michael Burgess.
“We are all focused on this. We are focused on Runaway Bay to do everything we can to get you through this crisis,” Parker said.
Parker added that he and other officials are helping to find funding sources on the state and federal levels.
Plans in place to address sewage problem
He also said that engineering firm Freese and Nichols is working with the city to assess the sewer situation and get a plan in place for the repairs.
“I know this is of great concern to all of you as well. It’s a great concern to us,” he said.
Other elected officials, including Clark, agreed that a solution is needed soon.
Clark said the city councils in Decatur and Bridgeport were scheduled to vote on resolutions Monday night to support Runaway Bay’s efforts to secure funding.
He described the situation in Runaway Bay as “scary and daunting” and added that everyone is working together to get things done.
Wayne Wall, a volunteer firefighter, said the talk from the politicians “sounded good” and he hopes they find a solution.
Wall said the firefighters are often called to clean out sewer lines.
“They come home exhausted at 5 p.m. and are back out at 1 a.m. fixing a sewer line,” he said.
He said backhoes often break and must be repaired.
“It’s a mess and it’s just overwhelming, when they are constantly out on the backhoes and fix a section and the next section breaks,” Wall said.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.