Labs Testing Water For Bacteria In Fort Worth
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Either by mechanical or human error a water tower in north Fort Worth near Haslet went dry Wednesday night spurring a frenzy of activity in the Fort Worth Water Department that lasted through the night into Thursday morning.
The water system lost pressure meaning bacteria might be able to get into the lines. The city sent out trucks with potable water. But even then the water worries weren't over for people like Michelle Sloan.
"I got out earlier and I got the water that was from the water truck and it was really yellow," Sloan said. "And I was like, oh, I'm really afraid to drink this."
As Fort Worth raced to warn people about the boil ban, it had to send out a second message too. That message was to dump out that discolored water offloaded from a water tanker.
"There was visible brownness to the water out of one of those trucks," said Fort Worth Water Director John Carman. "So, I pulled the truck. We're not giving back-up water that's brown. That's not acceptable."
Instead, the city shipped in 2,000 cases of water to hand out. Schools cut off water fountains and prepared meals that didn't require water.
Sloan came back to pick up her bottled water after seeing the city's messages on social media, but she still left with worries.
"I was like, 'OK what do I do with the dogs?'" she said. "Can I wash my dishes in the dishwasher? So that was a concern. So I was like, 'well I guess I'll just wait and see what they say'," said Michelle Sloan.
A Fort Worth lab is now testing the water for harmful bacteria. Water samples were drawn from schools, day care facilities and restaurants.
"We sampled lots of other locations as well throughout the distribution area," Carman said.
That testing should be in by early Friday morning. Until then, people are warned to use only boiled or bottled water for drinking or cooking.
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