KYLE — After years of dealing with construction of a wastewater treatment plant directly behind their homes, Kyle residents are speaking out.
In 2014, when Sean and Chelsea Collie purchased their Waterleaf home, they enjoyed a view of the open land behind their property.
Two years later, when Jose and Brandy Mendez purchased a home two doors down, they also enjoyed a view only slightly impeded by a single wastewater tank.
In 2020, the families were surprised to see the treatment plant undergoing expansion.
According to the city of Kyle, construction to expand the Kyle Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) was expected to begin March 26, 2020 with an estimated completion date of April 2022. Due to COVID-19, the construction start date was delayed until May 26, 2020.
Supply shortages and COVID protocols further delayed progress, according to engineering project manager Yvonne Gil-Vallejo. However, she confirmed that the expansion as initially intended is complete. The dewatering facility, which was a change approved by council in August 2021, is the only part of the project left to complete. The city is awaiting shipment of the final component, which will take about three weeks to make operational once it arrives.
“We’ve always sort of dealt with the smell,” Sean said. “Some days it’s worse, some days you don’t smell it … As time’s gone on, the smell has gotten really bad.”
“It used to be a selling point for me — our backyard with a nice patio and kids can run around and things,” Jose added. “Now, I’m like, ‘Nah, get back inside.’”
According to the families, solids are being emptied from the treatment plant once or twice a day. One of the entrance gates is positioned directly next to the Collie home.
“They’ll open it [the gate]. He [truck driver] drives up the side of the house. So, he parks the truck here [to lock the gate] and then we catch the worst smell. I have to bring my son in and it’s one of those smells where you start gagging,” Sean explained.
Gil-Vallejo confirmed that the entrance in Waterleaf on New Bridge Drive is not the “intended entrance” for the facility. After recent paving improvements, vehicles should be using the entrance on Heidenreich Lane.
In addition to the smell, the families say they are dealing with the side effects of the construction process, including dust from the 18-wheelers, rodent infestation and foundation problems from the vibration of the vehicles.
Sean explained that they recently installed a new air conditioning system. “I am having to clean the coils off a couple of times a week because they’re actually clogging up with dust from the construction,” he said.
“And, in the last six months, our foundation has dropped 2.5 inches. We’re getting a lot of vibration,” Sean continued.
“It’s vibrating constantly when they’re out there; it’s almost like pictures are about to start falling off. The windows are rattling,” Jose said. “I haven’t had it [the foundation] looked into, probably because I’m too scared to even want to know right at this point.”
The clearing of the land has also led to an increase of rodents in the area.
“I was gone for three to four weeks and come back and my car’s lights are all on,” Jose said. “So, I take it in and they said, ‘Bad news is you’re looking at about $8,800 in car damage of the wiring harness … It’s either a rat, mouse or a squirrel, but it looks typically like a rat or mouse.”
Sean added the same thing happened to his truck about seven months ago.
Despite all of the other problems they have faced, the two fathers agree that the hardest has been the worry for the health of their children. The Collie’s have an 18-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, while the Mendez’s have a 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
Over the last several months, both daughters have experienced extreme hair loss. After doctors ruled out other common issues, the families suspect it may be due to chemicals from the WWTP.
“So, my daughter is seven and she started losing her hair… We take her in to the pediatrician and we’re still going through the process of everything,” Jose said. He explained the process currently includes steroid creams and further testing.
“This is something, trying to tell a 7-year-old, ‘Hey, your hair potentially could all fall out,’” he said.
Sean recalled his daughter’s reaction: “I go upstairs and she’s crying and her bathtub is full of hair. And, I mean, a lot. She can just rub her hair and pull it out … So she went to the doctor, they checked her … They had no answer for it, so far.”
Sean and Chelsea’s daughter moved out about a month ago and has already started to see less hair loss.
When asked about the response they have received from the city of Kyle, Sean explained, “Normally, I’ll call the city and they’ll transfer me to who I need to talk to. There’s never a consistent person. I’ll leave messages; no call back. The one time I called about the fence, he called back really defensive. I’m like, ‘So, you’re not going to work with us?’ He’s like, ‘No’.”
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Inside the dumpsters that were placed adjacent to the Collie's home[/caption]
On Monday, Jan. 30, the families noticed dumpsters on the road outside the gate. Assuming it was just for construction trash, they didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until the following Saturday, they noticed the strong smell and the runoff from the dumpster into the Collie’s backyard.
Upon investigation, Sean found that the dumpsters had solids from the wastewater cleanouts. “It was leaking probably 16 to 18 feet from a dumpster,” Sean said.
“So, I went ahead and called the police department to see if they can have someone come out so we can at least get documentation. He seemed like they didn’t want to come out. They gave us a case number,” Sean explained. “Code enforcement came out this [Sunday] morning. They [city of Kyle employees] had already moved it.”
According to Tim Samford, Public Works treatment operations manager, the dumpsters were placed on New Bridge because Texas Disposal Systems was unable to access the normal location due to paving work.
“There were two scheduled pickups that were canceled due to the weather that we were having. It was our intention to place them out there and as soon as they were dumped to remove them, not to leave them there,” Samford said.
Harper Wilder, director of public works, added that the team had a meeting with TDS on Tuesday to make sure that TDS trucks would always be able to access the dumpsters going forward.
“So, there’s five of us that have to deal with this day in and day out,” Jose said. “No one really cares about this … They don’t come and give us a warning [about what happens]. It happens and then that’s how we find out about it.”
Gil-Vallejo explained that the city held public meetings in April and July 2022 to talk to residents about amendments to the project. Additionally, she said that she has sent monthly emails to the Waterleaf HOA board members to update them on the status of the project since May of 2020.
“I don’t quite know what they do with it, if they post it on their webpage, I’m not exactly sure,” Gil-Vallejo said. “They are very quick and brief, I would just give them the progress and send them some pictures as well as to what kind of activity was going on.”
“I respect what they’re doing —the growth — I understand all that part. But it’s affecting our living, our health,” Sean added.“I don’t feel safe with my kid in the backyard and I don’t live my life. I am trapped. This is not what we bought originally. We bought a beautiful view, nothing behind us, no traffic …”
“Peaceful,” Jose concluded, recalling the days prior to the project.
“And we don’t have that anymore. It was taken from us. And now we have kids that are sick and we’re having to watch our backs every which way. I’m scared to have my kid anywhere,” Sean said.
