KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — At approximately 8 a.m. on Tues., August 8, 2023, the Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was notified that runoff from the Sherwin Williams Fire that occurred on Monday, August 7 in Garland, was going to be entering Kaufman County via waterways and tributaries and would be going into the East Fork of the Trinity River near Seagoville and then into the Trinity main channel near Combine.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — At approximately 8 a.m. on Tues., August 8, 2023, the Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was notified that runoff from the Sherwin Williams Fire that occurred on Monday, August 7 in Garland, was going to be entering Kaufman County via waterways and tributaries and would be going into the East Fork of the Trinity River near Seagoville and then into the Trinity main channel near Combine.
The OEM has been advised that there is no danger to the public at this time, however, the contamination will kill fish in the affected areas.
The focus of the concern at this time is that the Firefighting Foam, also called (AFFF), which is visible on the surface, has been reported. It is estimated that the contamination will have moved through the Kaufman County area in the next 12 hours (approximately 8 p.m. on Wed., August 9). We are in contact with State and regional agencies and will continue to monitor the situation.
This is an evolving situation and the Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management will post updates to its website HERE and Facebook page HERE as new information becomes available.
For more information about the contamination, you may go to the City of Garland website at www.garlandtx.gov.
UPDATE: 2 p.m., Wed., August 9, 2023
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Garland officials and Sherwin-Williams officials are working to remediate any issues caused by water runoff and are working to remove any remaining fire suppression foam. While some dead fish have been observed in the impacted creeks, no major impacts to public health have been identified at this time. A map showing the affected creeks is now available on the EPA’s incident website.
