KARNES COUNTY, Texas – As cleanup efforts continue in the wake of a well blowout east of Karnes City, the company that owns and operates the well has taken steps to ensure the mess doesn't spread.
With rainfall on Saturday and more possible throughout the weekend, one concern is those rains could wash the oily substance that spewed from the well into nearby waterways, especially the San Antonio River.
Encana Corporation spokesman Doug Hock said the company has taken steps to avoid that. To start, workers have placed booms in the tributaries to block it from flowing any farther downstream. Encana has also skimmed stock ponds to remove hydro carbons and pumped water out of them so they won't overflow.
"So we've taken precautions so that we don't have impacts to the San Antonio River and to this point we've been able to avoid that," Hock said Saturday.
Encana also brought in two veterinarians to examine local livestock. A portion of Highway 792 also needs to be stripped and resurfaced. Encana estimates the road won't reopen until at least the middle of next week.
Encana still doesn't have a dollar estimate for the cleanup effort and related costs.