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Garland halts forest clearing after contractor accessed Spring Creek to inspect 55‑year sewer line; city hires consultant
Summary
City staff halted contractor work in Spring Creek Forest Preserve after crews began clearing paths to access manholes on an aging sewer main. City Manager apologized, said work was necessary to inspect a 55‑year sewer main serving about 20% of Garland; Kimley Horn was engaged to develop a preservation‑sensitive plan.
City staff halted clearing work inside Spring Creek Forest Preserve after contractors widened creek access to reach sewer manholes, and the city has engaged engineering consultant Kimley Horn to develop a plan that balances forest restoration with needed sewer inspections.
City Manager Judd Stevens apologized to the public and the Spring Creek Forest Preserve Society for failing to coordinate in advance. Stevens said the contractor’s clearing was “intentional” to reach sewer infrastructure but that the city erred by not notifying the preservation society and Dallas County before crews began work. He said crews stopped work as soon as the oversight was discovered and the city engaged professionals to craft a less‑damaging path forward.
The work was prompted by a series of inflow and infiltration (I&I) problems identified after heavy storms and recurring high flows at Garland’s Rowlett Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mike Brinkman, managing director of Water Utilities, told the council crews began inspecting manholes where possible and found sections of sewer mains that had not been inspected in decades. The Spring Creek sanitary trunk serves roughly 40,000 residents and businesses — about 20% of the city’s population — and runs through creek bottoms where manhole access is difficult and sometimes requires heavy equipment to pump, clean and televise the lines.
Brinkman and staff described operational obstacles: submerged manholes, collapsed banks, scouring around vents and long stretches of pipe that are difficult to inspect because of access and equipment limitations. Staff showed photos of damaged manhole risers, vent erosion and the types of heavy equipment (12‑yard dump trucks, combination jet/vac trucks, CCTV vans, excavators) typically needed to clean and televise creek‑bottom mains.
Stevens and staff said the immediate goal is twofold: protect the ecological values of the preserve while making necessary repairs and inspections to prevent a catastrophic sewer failure. The city has paused further clearing, committed to intensified communications with the Spring Creek Forest Preserve Society, and agreed to meet with county and preservation society leaders as Kimley Horn prepares a scope of work for restoration and access planning. Staff said the consultant scope was received July 18 and is under review; they expect further meetings with the preservation society in the coming weeks.
Preservation Society leaders and dozens of residents addressed the council in public comment, reporting distress over wide clearing, uprooted trees and exposed soil. Preservation Society speakers urged stronger protections, long‑term planning to remove sewer infrastructure from sensitive areas where feasible, and that the city involve volunteers and local ecology experts in restoration work. City leaders repeatedly apologized, described the clearing as a communication failure rather than intentional hostility, and said they would pursue restoration, improved staffing coordination, and a formalized process for any future utility access.
What happens next: the city is reviewing Kimley Horn’s draft scope, will continue coordination with the preservation society and Dallas County, and plans to present a restoration and access plan to the council after staff and the consultant have worked through ecological protections, access routes, and technical options for rehabilitating or replacing the aging sewer sections. Stevens told the council the city will avoid further unilateral clearing and will prioritize restoration and communication.
Evidence and next steps cited by staff included: - Halting work immediately once staff learned clearing had begun and notifying the preservation society and Dallas County; - Engaging Kimley Horn to devise a restoration and maintenance plan that minimizes additional ecological damage; - Committing to periodic meetings with the Preserve Society and public briefings; - Continuing sewer inspections where possible and prioritizing non‑destructive inspection methods where available, while noting that some manholes will require equipment access to be safely inspected.
City leaders emphasized the tension staff faces between preventing a sewer failure that could interrupt service for tens of thousands and preserving a nationally recognized old‑growth preserve; the council directed staff to return with the consultant scope, a communications plan and a timeline for restoration and necessary sanitary sewer work.
