An estimated 1.18 million gallons of sanitary sewer effluent flowed into two detention ponds on The Campus Course at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas due to an improper sewage connection that had been in place since the dorm was renovated in August 2017.

On May 1, 2018, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas discovered the sanitary sewer drainage line from Dorm 9 (Whitely Hall) had improperly been connected to the storm drain, the Bryan, Texas KBTX-TV Channel 3 reported.

An estimated 1.18 million gallons of sanitary sewer effluent flowed into a series of two detention ponds on The Campus Course at Texas A&M and then south of the area into Wolf Pen Creek over the course of eight months, KBTX-TV reported.

Texas A&M notified the City of College Station about the incident, and shortly thereafter notified the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regional office in Waco, Texas, KBTX-TV reported.

The improper connection has been in place since the dorm was renovated and reoccupied in August 2017. After discovering the improper connection, Texas A&M redirected the effluent to the sanitary sewer and has initiated remediation activities. Work to reroute the permanent sanitary sewer line was scheduled to be completed by May 3, KBTX-TV reported.

The TCEQ recommended that until further notice, persons using water from private wells (not city/local water) located within 1/2 mile of the Wolf Pen Creek 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, and personal hygiene. Those individuals with private water wells within 1/2 mile of the creek should have their well water tested and disinfected, if necessary, prior to discontinuing distillation or boiling, KBTX-TV reported.