200 Texas residents affected by lack of water during brutal heat — now state is investigating – By Sarah Taylor (theblaze.com) / July 24 2018
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is investigating an incident in which nearly 200 residents were without running water for about 18 hours on Sunday during an intense heat wave. (Getty Images)
About 200 residents in a Waxahachie, Texas, community were without water for approximately 18 hours starting on Sunday during an intense period of heat.
According to KTVT-TV, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is investigating the incident.
What are the details?
The incident occurred in the Emerald Forest subdivision in Waxahachie after the community’s water supplier, Carroll Water Company, reportedly was affected by a mechanical malfunction.
Carroll Water Company was under fire previously in June after nearby residents’ water inexplicably turned brown, KTVT reported.
A Carroll Water Company employee told the station that the deep water well “suffered a mechanical failure” on Sunday afternoon, according to KTVT.
“The well pump in the ground went out, nothing we can do to stop that,” the employee told the station.
What did the neighbors say?
Emerald Forest resident Julie Davis said that she and her family luckily had bottled water on hand and were able to use that during the high temperatures, but she was still concerned over the family’s animals.
“We have chickens, goats, dogs, and neighbors have cows and horses, and they can’t live without water,” she explained. “And what was it, 110 degrees yesterday?”
Davis’ neighbor, Kenny Clemons, said that they used water from their swimming pool to flush their toilets.
“Not everyone else has been able to do that,” Clemons added.
Clemons noted that the local fire department visited each house in order to provide residents water for their animals.
“You’ve seen how hot it is outside,” Clemons said. “It’s definitely been a big help.”
What else?
A spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said that the company did repair the pump as of Monday, and had begun the process of filling the ground water tanks.
Local residents are encouraged to boil their water prior to drinking it until further notice, according to KTVT.
