Water Techs, Mechanics Working Overtime To Avoid Similar System Failure To Historic 2021 Winter Storm

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - More water technicians and mechanics will report to work Wednesday night in Fort Worth, equipped with propane heaters and hundreds of prepared meals, as the utility hopes to avoid the system failures of 2021.

They have also built out a call center to 250 lines and are pushing residents to report problems on the My FW app, including when they lose water service or see a main break.

The changes come after unprecedented impacts from last year's winter storm. Department leaders said Tuesday they had started preparing earlier this year. The city's joint emergency operations center is expected to start filling up with staff later Wednesday to respond to issues for the duration of the storm.

The water department was also filling more tanks this week, which are often out of service during the winter months. They were planning for 24-hour staffing as well for emergency shut off requests.

Longer term improvements to the system are still pending however, according to a report given to city council members Tuesday. Plans to enclose outdoor pumps to protect them from the weather, and build and install emergency generators are still in the bid phase. Backup power systems for critical pump stations are also still being designed.

"The size of the generators we're talking about are not something you can go buy off the shelf," said Mary Gugliuzza, a spokesperson for the department. "These really have to be designed and custom built for the situation."