DALLAS — Alexander Neal's discovery of a crystal clear pool of water on a kayaking trip this past Sunday near the north end of the Great Trinity Forest was not a mythical Ponce de Leon kind of moment.
The "blue hole" he found in the Trinity River Watershed was, instead, a massive leak of chlorinated water meant for human consumption, not intended for the forest and organisms Neal says it was destroying.
"Would you believe me if I told you this morning I went kayaking in Dallas, Texas on a crystal clear swamp," he said in a TikTok video that has garnered more than 435,000 views. "A gaping hole that I call Dallas' Blue Hole."
The city of Dallas confirms to WFAA that they've known about a leak of chlorinated water from a busted 30-inch underground pipe just south of 175 near Rhoads Terrace Park, since at least last October.
You can clearly see that blue pool of water, just to the east of Rhoads Terrace Park, in Google Maps. Neal and other water resource specialists believe it's been leaking millions of gallons, not for months, but for years. He says they have noticed water pooling in the area, even during severe dry months, for several years now.
Neal, a water resource professional and a board member of the Texas Rivers Protection Association, kayaked to the area this weekend to investigate.
"What that flooding of that area with chlorinated water and just water in general has done to the forest ecosystem there," he said.
A spokesperson for the city of Dallas tells WFAA that they have been aware of the leak since at least last October and have been investigating a way to repair a leak to a 30-inch underground pipeline that serves Dallas Water Utilities customers.
"Upon learning about the leak in a wetlands area behind the Rochester Levee, DWU staff conducted initial investigations and immediately closed off the segment of the 30-inch line that was suspected of leaking and kept a small 8-inch bypass line operable to maintain pressure," a City of Dallas spokesperson tells WFAA.
"During the investigation, staff has been taking steps to continue providing customers with drinking water and fire protection, while minimizing water loss. Staff lowered the volume of water flowing through the pipe and has been transferring customers' water service to other area lines. Due to the complexity of these system adjustments, it took several months to pinpoint the leak and isolate the location. The leak detection and isolation process has been completed, and work to repair this line will begin today and will last several weeks. Additionally, staff has utilized a de-chlorination process for the water that was being discharged to minimize any impacts to area wildlife."
That "de-chlorination" was evident Wednesday from the vantage point of a WFAA drone. The formerly clear blue hole is now a muddy brown and green pool filled with turtles.
"What's crazy is that if this happened in a neighborhood in any other part of Dallas, this would make headlines, a lot of people would see it, the city would have addressed it," said Neal. "I think they kind of let it slip by which is a little spooky because it's a lot of water."
Neal estimates "billions" of gallons of water have leaked. The city of Dallas estimates about 12,000 gallons a day, approximately 3.6 million gallons, since last October.