HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — The Spring Independent School District and the contractors working on the Spring High School replacement construction site, set to be completed in 2028, are coming under fire.
The Harris County engineering office confirmed to ABC13 that they have issued a violation to the district and their contractors for illegal discharge flowing into Spring Creek from the construction site, which is near the Grand Parkway and the Hardy Toll Road in north Harris County.
“They were pumping it across this edge of the detention basin into this little drainage channel,” Bob Rehak, the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force leader, said.
Rehak flew his drone to discover it and said he was shocked by the amount of waste being pumped into the water.
“I was absolutely shocked by the amount of sediment that was coming out of the detention basin there and how far downstream it went; it went further than my drone could fly,” Rehak said.
The county said on Wednesday that they issued a notice of violation to the contractors and the Spring Independent School District, after the contractors were observed pumping the silted water from one basin into another, then flowing that discharge directly into Spring Creek near their Spring High School replacement construction site.
For Rehak, he said he’s worried about the dangers it can cause.
“Number one issue is flooding, but there are other environmental consequences too. It kills fish in the creek, the sediment clogs their gills, they can’t breathe, they suffocate, and this was spring break, there were kids out there fishing on the creek, and all they got was a bunch of muck,” Rehak said.
Rehak was up in the air again on Friday and said he’s now seeing silt fences and other measures being taken to prevent more sediment flow.
The Harris County engineering department said the contractors and the district have three days from the citation to make changes.
The district told ABC13 that it has already begun corrective steps and takes environmental compliance seriously.
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