Fort Worth’s water risks contamination from proposed private landfill, residents say

Silver Creek Road near Lake Worth is an area known for its beautiful nature and tranquil environment. Bald eagles nest nearby and fish in an aquifer that’s the main source of water for residents living on 1-acre lots.

But residents fear the peace that attracted them to the northwest Fort Worth neighborhoods near Loop 820 is under threat from a proposed landfill.

Houston-based BAP Kennor Landfill, LLC is proposing to put a 6.6 acre landfill at 3411 Silver Creek Road. The company is trying to reactivate a roughly 50-year old permit originally used for a gravel pit on the site.

The company is applying to the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality to revive the old permit.

The landfill would accept construction waste, which has residents like Katheryn Moore worried about contamination.

Everyone in the area uses well water, so any possible contamination would have a huge impact on quality of life, Moore said.

There’s also an underground spring that feeds into Lake Worth, which would put the city’s water resources at risk if there was any contamination, she said.

The other big concern for residents is traffic.

Moore noted the two-lane country road that leads to the proposed landfill site is not equipped to handle traffic from heavy trucks carrying construction debris.

There are two bridges along that road that wouldn’t hold up under the heavy stress of roughly 140 construction trucks a day, she said.

Those bridges are rated to handle vehicles that are around 30,000 pounds, said Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, whose precinct includes the proposed landfill site.

An empty Waste Management truck is about 60,000 pounds, so the infrastructure isn’t there to accommodate this kind of project, he said.

The area also sees a lot of pass-through traffic from people trying to get around jams on Loop 820 or nearby Jacksboro Highway, Ramirez said.

Until the roads are widened and the bridges are improved, projects like the proposed landfill don’t make sense, he said.

TCEQ will hold a hearing on the proposed development at 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at Brewer High School, 1025 West Loop 820. Moore is rallying residents to speak at the hearing opposing the landfill.