Last Night's Rainful Causes Wastewater Spill

Wastewater spills into local river, creeks
Austin American Statesman- October 31, 2013

1. http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/wastewater-spills-into-local-river-creeks/nbddh/

2. Category of Problem/Issue identified in article: Environment

3. Level of problem/issue: Local

4. This article is concerning a problem/issue that individuals/families face.

5. This affects individuals and families because of the contamination caused to rivers and creeks in the local area. This contamination raises the risk of infections and illness to local residents who come into contact with these waterways.

6. As if Austin has had enough problems with the current bouts of rain, now they really have an issue! The extreme amount of rain that had fallen late last night cause wastewater to spill into about six creeks as well as the Colorado River. Fortunately, none of the drinking water has been contaminated or this could have caused an even bigger issue than it currently has. Officials are encouraging local residents to stay away from these creeks in order to prevent any sort of infections or illness to occur in hopes of avoiding any sort of unnecessary outbreak from occurring. As torrential as last night’s rain was for the hill country, it truly can be considered a blessing. We have currently been under the worst drought that Central Texas has ever seen, even beating the 1950’s drought. Some predict this drought to last until the year 2020. What does this mean for areas like Austin? For one, our creeks, rivers, and lakes will continue to suffer. Water levels have been so low, and because new rain water is not washing them out, increasing amounts of minerals as well as harmful chemicals are prone to infect our water (the same water that we shower in and drink from). With the rain that we do get, the dry soil is quick to soak it up for survival reasons. Additionally, many families around this area, like Wimberley and Austin/Pflugerville, have had to battle the flooding effects caused by such heavy rainfall in such a short amount of time. I pray for more rain; however, continue to hope that it is a lighter, less detrimental rainfall that ensues.