HOUSTON — A newly released search warrant claims illegal and possibly unsafe discharges were being made from a Kingwood wastewater treatment plant into a nearby waterway.
That document also alleges reports were falsified to show those discharges complying with state law.
In it, a Houston Police Department sergeant with the Environmental Investigations Unit wrote, “From the statements of credible experts and information from lab test results collected by the City of Houston and Busby Environmental, there is probable cause to believe that raw sewage and/or pollutants are being discharged into Bens Branch, a waterway, a direct discharge point into Lake Houston.”
The warrant said a field investigator who visited the plant on February 2 found that "the autosampler was in complete disrepair. It was not programmed to take samples, the temperature gauge vial was frozen with severe frost inside of the unit.”
On Friday, February 17, police served the warrant at the Kingwood Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.
KHOU 11 shared the document Wednesday with Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin, who represents the area.
“I’m ticked off,” Martin said. “I can’t express how mad I am that this occurred.”
The mayor pro tem said he’s known something was off since mid-January.
“People in Kingwood knew it,” said Martin. “We could see Bens Branch discolored. We could smell it in the air.”
Martin said he reported the plant to Houston Public Works after walking the grounds on three separate occasions and seeing some of the same things the investigator reported seeing.
“Raw sewage possibly sitting on land and reports of clean water that were probably documentation being tampered with," said Martin.
A third-party company called Inframark runs the plant. The company issued KHOU 11 the following statement Wednesday evening:
"We are committed to ensuring the safe operation of the Kingwood Central Wastewater Treatment plant. We are working with the city of Houston to address the recent matter but at no point was untreated sewage released from the plant. We are cooperating with the city and other authorities in their investigation. We have also engaged the King & Spalding law firm along with technical experts to conduct a third-party investigation.”
Houston Public Works gave KHOU 11 the following statement on Wednesday:
"While the Houston Police Department is handling the criminal aspects of this matter, Houston Public Works is addressing the management of the plant, safety of water operations, and regulatory compliance. HPW believes that the Kingwood Central Wastewater Treatment Plant was not being operated properly by its contract operator, Inframark. HPW will not comment on HPD’s ongoing investigation and the facts thereof. However, with regards to regulatory compliance, HPW’s review of a “raw sewage discharge” at the facility focuses on whether sewage bypassed the plant and incoming raw wastewater was discharged directly into Ben’s Branch and/or Lake Houston. At this time, HPW has no indication of that having occurred. Conversely, HPW has confirmed that due to Inframark’s substandard operation and maintenance of this facility, wastewater treatment at the Kingwood Central WWTP was not performing at the levels required by the facility’s permits and wastewater effluent was being discharged without meeting required levels of treatment.
"As part of the Houston Police Department’s ongoing investigation of the incident related to the Kingwood Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, HPD obtained a search warrant. As is the case in most investigations, the search warrant reflected the preliminary investigatory information HPD had available at the time and covered matters that HPD had probable cause to believe existed, such as possible raw sewage discharge, as well as discharges of pollutants.
"HPW personnel have been onsite monitoring the facility and HPW is pursuing options for long term operations depending upon the outcome of the investigation. Both City departments will continue their respective efforts regarding this matter, and the City again reiterates its drinking water systems remain safe."
City officials told KHOU 11 that even if this wastewater made its way to Lake Houston, which provides most of the city’s drinking water, that water is heavily treated and tested before it flows to faucets.
Mayor Pro Tem Martin said Houston Public Works officials told him that based on what they collected, they believe under-treated wastewater, rather than raw sewage, is what possibly got into Bens Branch.
The Houston Police Department and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are conducting the investigation. No charges have been announced as of Feb. 22.