New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order to remove old plastic pipes decades ago

State records show regulators ordered the removal of a plastic gas pipe installed in the early 1970s after it was linked to multiple explosions and deaths in North Texas — a decision now getting renewed attention after last month's Lake Dallas home explosion.

Investigators say last month's explosion, which critically injured a woman, was caused by a natural gas leak. Atmos Energy said its crews later detected an isolated leak on a short section of pipe buried in the area. The company said the pipe was installed by a predecessor utility company and was made of a material used only in 1970 and 1971.

"It now appears this short section of pipe was not found during previous removal efforts," Atmos said in a statement. "For that reason, we did not know it was there."

Regulators flagged pipe decades ago  

While the ongoing investigation has not identified the pipe by name or concluded that the material caused the failure, a 2004 Texas Railroad Commission report documents that first‑generation plastic gas pipe installed during the same period — known as Poly‑1 pipe — was linked to repeated explosions across North Texas and ordered removed.

According to Railroad Commission records from the early 2000s, problems with Poly‑1 pipe surfaced "almost immediately, as early as 1971." Regulators found the pipe was prone to brittle cracking, allowing natural gas to escape underground.

Over the following decades, state and federal investigators linked the pipe to multiple explosions, including a fatal blast in Lake Dallas in 1997 and a deadly explosion in Garland in 2000 that killed three people.

After the Garland explosion, the Railroad Commission ordered the gas utility at the time — TXU Gas — to locate and remove all remaining Poly-1 pipe from its distribution system.

State records show TXU Gas told regulators it did not have data reflecting how much of the pipe had been installed because it was put in decades earlier by a predecessor company. The utility launched an extensive removal program, telling regulators it dug more than 100,000 test holes across North Texas in an effort to locate and remove the pipe.

When Atmos Energy acquired the Mid‑Tex gas distribution system in 2004, company officials said they reviewed those removal efforts and were told the early‑1970s pipe had been removed.

Ongoing review and repairs underway

Following the Lake Dallas explosion, Atmos said it now believes a short section was missed.

The company said that since acquiring the system, it has removed this type of pipe whenever it is found. Atmos said it is not aware of the pipe existing anywhere else in Lake Dallas, but is reviewing documentation from earlier removal work to determine what improvements can be made.

In the weeks since the explosion, Atmos crews have been working in the Lake Dallas neighborhood, replacing gas lines and testing to ensure there are no other leaks.

Neighbors say that work has not lessened their concern.

"I'm worried because that could happen to anybody in this neighborhood," said Eliana Saavedra, a Lake Dallas neighbor. "Seeing all the holes that they've dug up, I'm like, did they have a lot of issues or are they trying to fix everything that's that they think is wrong?"