A smelly situation boiled over for a Richmond neighborhood after sewage sent dirty toiletry items into their yards.
South Belmont Street neighbors said around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, manholes started to bubble and leak sewage onto their street.
Neighbors captured video showing the water and the items coming from the sewer, including personal hygiene items.
The city says between 500 and 2,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the street.
This isn’t the first time.
The city said this is the third time this year this has happened.
Public works says Tuesday night’s problem was a combination of a pump failure and neighbors pouring grease into their pipes that caused the issue.
“Little kids are playing in it,” Lisa Railsback said. “My neighbors are walking in it. I’m walking in it. We’re all living in it. It was a total shock.”
“We get the roaches that we shouldn’t be getting,” Beki Shapley said. “We get the flies which is another sign that there’s raw sewage floating around. It’s just overwhelming.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently investigated the neighborhood.
It found sewage has spilled into the street several times over the past few years.
The amount of sewage has ranged from 100 to 1,050 gallons spilled into the neighborhood each time.
Despite the issues, the state agency determined there are no violations, but mentioned the city is working to improve the problem.
A city spokesperson said it’s going to add a new lift station, which should help.
It’s also added cameras in the pipes below the street to monitor the situation.
