Oak Cliff residents were put on alert after an oil spill in the historic Lake Cliff neighborhood.
Last week, the city discovered someone had spilled oil into the lake.
For a few days, fishing was prohibited. The park is in City Councilman Chad West’s district. He told NBC 5 that immediately, the Department of Environmental Quality & Sustainability got to work. An investigation led them to the source.
“It was a small business in the neighborhood that spilled 70 to 80 gallons of used oil into the storm sewer,” said Councilman West.
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“The storm sewer of course because of gravity makes its way down here to Lake Cliff Park, it got into the lake, polluted the lake.”
City staff responded, and as of Tuesday afternoon, he said the spill was 95% percent cleaned up. Councilman West said the remaining cleanup would focus on the channels that pour into the lake. He also stated it was important for the city to respond appropriately, as this park will soon be under review for expansion.
“Do we want to expand the lake, do we want to enhance the lake, do we want to preserve what we have and not change it? The community is about to go into those discussions, and I think this is a wakeup call that we’ve got to be diligent about these parks,” said West.
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Lupe Martinez grew up near Lake Cliff and said she was pleased that the city responded quickly.
“We spend of a lot of time here, it’s important for our health that our environment is clean,” said Martinez.
West said the city attorney’s office will likely investigate whether to hold the responsible business accountable.
“Assuming it was an accident, which we all think it was, I think it’s a little less harsh than if somebody had done it intentionally,” said West.
Councilman West said the city has contacted the neighborhood association about its cleanup progress.
