AUSTIN, Texas — A water main break that sent water spraying into the air in northwest Austin on Monday is now fixed. However, the problem on Spicewood Springs Road sparked environmental concerns for nearby Bull Creek.
Residents say hundreds of dead fish have popped up after treated water from the burst pipe flowed into the creek.
“You can smell that fishy smell. It’s disgusting,” Jonathan Kirtland said as he waded through the ankle-deep water, pointing at floating dead perches and largemouth bass.
Kirtland said Bull Creek has been like a big backyard to folks like him.
“My brothers and I would come out here during the summer, explore the wilderness, learn about the plants, learn about the animals,” Kirtland said.
According to Kirtland, the creek's unique ecosystem is really everyone's backyard and one that people see less of these days with Austin's booming development.
“You have these beautiful, unique habitats where only certain animals can live in their pockets that are preserved,” Kirtland said. “Without stuff like this ... You may grow up only knowing a pool and a dirty creek.”
Kirtland said when you mess with the flow of things, it can become unbalanced – like what happened Monday, with the 48-inch water main break. Kirtland said it was a wild sight and looked like a geyser, but after seeing posts on social media, he's concerned about the impact it had.
On Tuesday, Kirtland said he found hundreds of dead fish for a half-mile stretch. While the water in the pipes is treated with chlorine to make it safe for consumption, Kirtland said it's too much for wildlife.
“I mean, it hurts. It's sad. You don't want to see dead things," Kirtland said. "It might just be a tiny, little, dumb fish that has died, but it is more than that, right? It is like an entire ecosystem."
An ecosystem for more than just animals, according to Save Our Springs Attorney Bobby Levinski. He said it's important for human and animal health to keep an eye on construction in those areas.
“It is a source of water, not only for Austin, but downstream as well. There's also 700 species that call Bull Creek home,” Levinski said. “That way, the proper fines can be assessed ... what mitigation measures need to be taken to restore the habitat as quickly as possible."
According to Levinski, Bull Creek is a protected body of water because it flows into the Colorado River and is one of Austin's main sources of water.
KVUE reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Austin Watershed Department about the incident. TCEQ said after getting complaints, crews were out inspecting the water Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Austin Watershed said it has been out three times since Monday to inspect the quality of the water. It said during its inspections on Monday and Tuesday, the water’s turbidity was high and no dead fish were found. The inspection on Wednesday confirmed there were hundreds of dead fish.
Kirtland said he’s relieved there’s been such a quick response from government agencies.
“It takes that community interest in preserving things. It's not just the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, it's not just Texas Parks and Wildlife,” Kirtland said. “It has to be people who are invested in little Bull Creek ... in the little fish.”
Both the TCEQ and Austin Watershed said their investigations are ongoing, including an assessment of potential impacts.