Harris Ridge Owner's Association

The Special Services Division of the Austin Water Utility is requesting the help of all homeowners in the Harris Ridge subdivision. Recently, the City of Austin purchased the Dessau Wastewater Treatment Plant. All of the water you put down the drain in your home is treated by this small wastewater treatment plant. The process of properly treating this wastewater is biological and is sensitive to inputs of anything that would interfere.

Recent Problems

The Dessau Wastewater Treatment plant has experienced several upsets to this biological process since the City of Austin acquired the wastewater treatment plant. The Special Services Division is attempting to determine the sources of these plant upsets. We have surveyed the area and have determined that the source does not appear to be a business in the area. Therefore, we are requesting that the homeowners in Harris Ridge report any suspicious activity related to the disposing and/or dumping of anything into a manhole located within your neighborhood by anyone not employed by the City of Austin.

Discharge

Businesses and home based businesses that discharge wastewater that may contain pollutants such as fats, oils, and greases, heavy metals, fluoride, cyanides, toxic organics, and acidic or basic wastes from their business operations are required to install, operate and adequately maintain pretreatment devices and/or systems to remove these pollutants that could otherwise damage or obstruct the wastewater collection system; or interfere with or pass through the wastewater treatment process.

Overflow Cause & Effects

An increasingly common cause of overflows is sewer pipes blocked by grease. Grease gets into the sewer from household drains, from poorly maintained grease traps in restaurants and other businesses. These sewer overflows and backups can cause health hazard, damage home interiors, and threaten the environment.

Grease can be found in such things as meat fats, food scraps, lard, baking goods, cooking oil, sauces, shortening, dairy products, butter, margarine, and is a byproduct of cooking. Too often, grease is washed into the plumbing system, usually through the kitchen sink. Grease sticks to the insides of sewer pipes (both on your property and in the streets), and over time, the grease can build up and block the flow of wastewater.

Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system. These units only shred solid material into smaller pieces and do not prevent grease from going down the drain.

Commercial additives, including detergents, that claim to dissolve grease may pass grease down the line and cause problems in other areas. The results can be:

• Raw sewage overflowing in your home or your neighbor’s home;
• An expensive and unpleasant cleanup that often must be paid for by you, the homeowner;
• Raw sewage overflowing into parks, yards, and streets;
• Potential contact with disease-causing organisms; and
• An increase in operation and maintenance costs for local sewer departments, which causes high sewer bills for customers.

How to Solve the Problem

The easiest way to solve the grease problem and help prevent overflows of raw sewage in the sewers begins by keeping it out of the drains in the first place. The following tips should be helpful in preventing an overflow and avoiding costly plumbing repairs. Many of these tips are recommended for households and commercial kitchens alike.

• Never pour grease down sink drains or into toilets.
• Collect waste cooking oil in a can. When cool, seal and discard this can in the trash.
• Scrape food from plates into a compost or trash bin;
• Before washing, wipe oily pans thoroughly with a paper napkin or paper towel;
• Minimize or avoid using your garbage disposals. A lot of food waste contains fats, oils and grease and could clog your own pipes and/or the city’s sanitary sewers.

Report Problems

If you see anyone disposing/dumping into any manhole or cleanout located within the Patterson Industrial Business Park or within the Harris Ridge residential area, please call the Austin Water Utility Special Services Division:

512-972-1060
(M-F: 7:30am to 4:00pm)

512-802-8919
(after hours IW emergency pager)

Please obtain as much of the following information as possible: license plate number, description of vehicle including make and model, company name, description of driver, time and date of incident, and location of illegal dumping.

The Austin Water Utility thanks you for helping us protect the waters of the state!!