‘No one can live in a disaster like that’: Residents impacted by Hollywood Road wastewater plant shutdowns

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - With the Hollywood Road ‘wastewater drop off site’ intermittently shutting down, households using septic systems are having to bear an uncomfortable and unimaginable burden.

Septic tank service companies in the area are frequently and periodically unable to pick up and dispose of sewage from septic tanks. This is because the only drop-off site in town is not operating at full capacity.

Consequently, households with full septic tanks are left living to deal with the aftermath, unable to do dishes, use their toilet, or shower.

With nowhere else to go, a lot of homes are experiencing their waste going places less than ideal.

“It came up through the bathtub it was bad like I wasn’t able to take a bath for pretty long and I hated it and it wasn’t very good. It was pretty stinky and I couldn’t sleep well sometimes,” says Odin G., a Randall County resident being affected.

Odin is not the only one having to live like this. According to area septic tank companies and property managers, hundreds of households are experiencing the same thing.

Septic tank service companies are scheduling three months out at this point and, with the random closing of Hollywood Road, sometimes they go weeks unable to help residents who use septic.

“The bad water is backing up into the tubs, so they can’t use the showers or anything like that and it’s just it’s kind of messed up you know, no one can live in a disaster like that,” says JJ Sykes, property manager.

Sykes says periodic shutdowns of the wastewater drop-off site not only impact businesses, but also hundreds of households.

“It’s just not fair for anybody that lives in Amarillo that has a septic system because it’s not just a family it’s 100 more 1000 more families affected by it, and it could be frustrating when you have to go to school and you can’t take a shower or anything like that,” explains Sykes.

This is exactly what Odin had to deal with and with septic tank service companies unable to help, all families and households can do is wait, sometimes weeks at a time.

“When you’re a property manager it kind of makes you feel bad because you can’t do anything because like you’ve got to wait on the company to come out. It just kind of sucks that you can’t help a family out when they’re in need,” says Sykes.

The city says the drop-off site needs major repair and will take some time, but has no official timeline for a more permanent solution.

Copyright 2023 KFDA. All rights reserved.