HOUSTON – KPRC 2 cameras caught a nasty wastewater spill in northeast Houston along South Lake Houston Parkway.
Untreated water, toilet paper, and waste gushed from what appeared to be a broken pipe.
Houston Public Works crews spotted the health hazard on Wednesday night but couldn’t stop it because they couldn’t find the shutoff or determine who owned the wastewater line.
By late Thursday afternoon, officials identified Municipal Utility District 421 as the owner of the line. Inframark operates the MUD.
The company shut off the flow of the wastewater.
Inframark said it is still investigating what happened but believes about 15,000 gallons of wastewater spilled from the pipe before the leak was stopped.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requires water utilities to report sewage spills like this one.
In 2023, the city of Houston terminated all contracts with Inframark amid a criminal investigation alleging that Inframark released sewage into one of Houston’s drinking water sources without adequately treating it, and then falsified reports to hide the problem.