HOUSTON – A boil water notice that was issued Friday for part of east Houston was lifted Tuesday morning.
Residents and businesses in east Houston have been left with low water pressure or no water at all since Friday due to a water main break. That pressure was mostly restored by Monday, but officials were awaiting test results before lifting the boil order.
Carolyn Meyer, a resident in the affected area, said she had been in constant communication with the city.
“It’s hard,” she said. “You don’t know how much you use your water. We are very fortunate because it’s just me and my husband but I can only imagine for the people that have small children or elderly people.”
On Sunday night, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said city crews and an outside contractor were working to repair the line.
“The pipes were put in 1967 and instead of just replacing the valve we are having to replace the line,” Turner wrote in a tweet. “Aging infrastructure. Apologize for the delay.”
City crew along with an outside contractor have been working around the clock to repair a water main break in East Houston. The pipes were put in 1967 and instead of just replacing the valve we are having to replace the line. Aging infrastructure. Apologize for the delay. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) May 2, 2021
According to a news release from city officials, the water pressure dropped below the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s required minimum of 20 PSI after the main broke about 3 a.m. Friday.
Anyone with questions is asked to call 311.
Below is a map provided by the city of Houston of the area that was included in the boil water order:
On Monday, volunteers handed out 12 pallets of bottled water at Cimarron Elementary School to those affected by the boil water notice.
“Man, it hasn’t been easy with kids. Kids you gotta dress them up in the morning so they can go to school. It’s been kind of tough,” Miguel Urieta told KPRC 2 while he picked up water with his family. “This really helps. We got this notice and we were like ‘Let’s go and get some.’”
Crews repaired the leak overnight, but sent the water for testing. The boil water notice will not be lifted until the test results come back all clear. The earliest that could happen is Tuesday.