Creek returns to normal after spill
State officials continued to monitor the health of Plum Creek this week after a sewage spill in Kyle on Nov. 1 but say effects of the mishap appear to have “played itself out,” in the words of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Stephen Twidwell.
“There doesn’t seem to be any residual effects and the water coming up behind the slug is okay, meaning the water level came back to normal fairly quickly,” Twidwell said after taking samples at several locations in the creek on Thursday.
As much as one million gallons of untreated and undertreated wastewater spilled into an unnamed tributary of Plum Creek on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 when a pump at the intake area at the Kyle wastewater treatment plant failed to engage, causing a backup of sewage.
When the problem was discovered, workers turned on booster pumps which sent the backed up wastewater into the plant and caused undertreated effluent to spill out the other end into the creek.
The spill is blamed for the death of about 2,000 fish in the creek between the plant and Plum Creek’s crossing at Texas 21. But Twidwell said he found no measurable effect to water quality or signs of dead wildlife, when he tested last week at Plum Creek’s crossing with FM 2001.
Aqua Texas, the contractor that operates the plant for the city, faces fines from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, a spokesperson for the agency said.
Comprehensive plan revisited
The city of Buda has begun the process of revising its long-range comprehensive plan, last updated in 2002 when the city had about a third as many people and less than half as much land area.
City officials are pitching the effort as a “citizen-created vision for how the city grows over the next 10 to 20 years.” Since 2001, the city’s estimated population has grown from 2,621 to an estimated 6,720 as of January 2010. During the same period, Buda has annexed 1,790 acres representing a 126 percent growth.
A public workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 30 in the Kunkel Room at Buda Elementary School. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the discussion will start at 7 p.m. Attendees will be entered in a drawing to win gift cards.
The comprehensive plan rewrite dovetails with the ongoing effort to rebrand the city. Residents are encouraged to take an on-line survey at www.rebrandmybuda.com.
For information about the comprehensive plan or rebranding efforts, contact assistant city manager Brian LaBorde at 512-384-0012.
