SAN ANTONIO – Joe Torres said he and his Northeast Side neighbors are tired of having to smell and see sewage water in their neighborhood near Rittiman Road.
Torres said he noticed a constant stream of running water that did not smell like typical wastewater.
“As it’s warming up, we’re getting the smell a lot more, and that’s the big issue right there,” Torres said. “It’s kind of an unhealthy smell.”
Torres said he and his neighbor, Henry Nunez, followed the water’s trail that they said led to a drain behind his home, and he contacted KSAT.
San Antonio Water System was emailed about a possible leak in the neighborhood. An official emailed back stating that SAWS investigators identified a plumbing project at the Sola Apartments as the possible source.
Torres said the sewage water traveled down a drain behind his home and collects at the intersection of Myrna Drive and Melton Drive.
But neighbor Robert Lopez said some of the water ends up in his backyard.
“It’s not a little bit because it’s soaked — you can see the dirt that it’s wet,” Lopez said. “If it’s contaminated water and it’s in my backyard, that means the backyard is contaminated.”
Lopez and Torres said the situation was bad enough that SAWS crews came out with vacuum trucks to clean up, but the water returned hours later.
Torres said many of the neighbors suspected the complex was possibly the source and felt management should reach out to them or at least post warning signs about the sewage.
Torres said the health risk of walking through the sewage water prompted him to make and post signs warning describing the water as a biohazard.
“They’re no Picassos or Rembrandts, but at least they tell people that’s sewer water,” Torres said.
“I don’t want to get sick. My mother’s an elderly lady,” Lopez said. ”I don’t need her getting sick.”
KSAT attempted to call the apartment complex, but the leasing office was closed.
A SAWS official said their findings were reported to the code compliance.
The questions now: when will the issue be fixed, and who’s going to pay for the cleanup?
“More or less the homeowners get stuck with a bill, nine times out of 10,” Torres said.
“If I have to pay for it, that’s not right,” Lopez said. “‘Cause I didn’t cause the problem.”
Neighbors are awaiting code compliance findings to determine the next steps to fix the leak.
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