After days without drinkable water, Texas city residents can again turn on the tap
Residents of Odessa, Texas may again safely drink tap water without having to first boil it, the city announced Saturday, after thousands of city residents had been left without water since Tuesday. The West Texas city — and many towns across the state — sweltered this week under temperatures near 100 degrees.
Water samples sent for testing Friday were determined to be safe by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the city said.
"The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes," according to a news release posted on social media lifting the boil order.
The city said taps in 165,000 homes and businesses lost pressure or went completely dry after a 24-inch water main broke Monday afternoon.
Crews were unable to isolate the source of the break, forcing them to take the city's water treatment plant offline, Odessa Mayor Javier Joven said Tuesday afternoon.
The water treatment plant was back online in the city about 330 miles west of Dallas by about 8 a.m. Wednesday. But workers conducted a "recharging" process, slowly adding water volume to the system to ensure there are no more leaks.
Two other Texas cities, Euless and Bedford, narrowly avoided a similar situation because of a water main break, CBS DFW reported.
