Storm-Induced Pipe Collapse Dumps 50,000-Plus Gallons Of Sewage Into Pflugerville-Area Lake

PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- This week’s heavy rains caused a spill of untreated, sewage-containing water to spill into Murphy Park Lake in Taylor, a town located some15 miles from Pflugerville, county officials said.

In an email, Pflugerville spokeswoman Terri Toledo stressed the affected lake is a separate water basin altogether, and the city is not affected by the Murphy Park Lake sewage dump.

"It is 19 miles northeast of Lake Pflugerville," she wrote in an email to Patch. "This isn't near Pflugerville, and the water from this lake is not going to affect our water system."

Toledo further assured the Taylor seepage poses no danger to Pflugerville's own lake. 

"This is a separate water basin from us," she wrote. "Water downstream of this is to the east and we are southwest."

The spill from the collection pipe in Taylor dumped more than 50,000 gallons of domestic sewage and rainwater into the waterway, Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Watson said in an email. The spill was detected on Thursday, and was caused by a collapsed sewer line, Taylor Assistant City Manager Noel Bernal said.

“Although this does not affect the city drinking water, we want to inform the public about this issue in an abundance of caution,” Bernal said.

In addition to informing the public, appropriate local government officials and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality office have been notified, he added.

The affected Lake, which flows into Bull Branch, is located at 12th and Main streets.

Crews have been working to divert the flow to another line to ameliorate the issue, county officials said. Moreover, city workers are filtering and off-pumping runoff at the site, they added.

The affected site includes Murphy Park Lake and and up to one mile downstream of it, officials noted.

The public is urged to avoid contact with waste material, soil or water in the area potentially affected by the spill. Should contact occur, people should bathe and wash clothes thoroughly as soon as possible, county officials said.