Wastewater Spill Kills Fish

The failure of a water utility lift station has caused a wastewater spill in Austin, Texas. The spill, which ran into the Harris Branch Creek in northeast Travis County, has killed approximately 200 fish, according to the Austin Water Utility.

The spill will not affect public drinking water systems, but those residents in the River Ranch area who obtain their drinking water from private wells are encouraged to boil their water.

Kevin Buchman, utility spokesman, said that the lift station failure occurred sometime Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 and has since been repaired.

Source: Austin American-Statesman; Austin, Texas