Inadvertent Discharge at Wildhorse Ranch WWTP Contained

AUSTIN – On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at approximately 6:00am, Austin Water personnel at the Wildhorse Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 10621 Blue Bluff Lane, Manor, Texas 78653, discovered an unauthorized discharge of approximately 523,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater. The discharge occurred at the plant’s outfall and reached an unnamed tributary of Gilleland Creek.  
 
The discharge has since been contained and there is no impact to fish or wildlife. The affected area is not accessible to vehicle or pedestrian traffic. Clean-up efforts are ongoing, and Austin Water has notified and is coordinating with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Austin Watershed Protection to assess and remediate the site.  
 
This unauthorized discharge has not affected Austin’s drinking water supply.  
 
Austin Water officials urge precaution: 

• Persons using private drinking water supply wells located within 1/2-mile of the overflow site or within the potentially affected area should use only water that has been distilled or boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute for all personal uses including drinking, cooking, bathing, and tooth brushing. Individuals with private water wells should have their well water tested and disinfected, if necessary, prior to discontinuing distillation or boiling.
• Persons who purchase water from another public water supply may contact their water supply distributor to determine if the water is safe for personal use.
• The public should avoid contact with waste material, soil, or water in the area potentially affected by the overflow.
•  If the public comes into contact with waste material, soil, or water potentially affected by the spill, they should bathe and wash clothes thoroughly as soon as possible‎.  
   

For more information, customers can contact Austin Water at 512-972-1000.