Water quality became a serious issue for the city beginning in 2015 when four boil water notices were issued over an 18-month period. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality opened an investigation of the city’s water April 10, 2019 after complaints of an earthy smell and taste from residents.
Drink up, Corpus Christi. The 13-day-long boil water notice — the third notice in 10 months — is over.
City officials made the announcement at a 5 p.m. press conference after getting approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The city now plans to hire an outside consultant to investigate the city’s response and handling of the situation and what can be done to prevent another water crisis in the future.
With the boil notice lifted, residents of Corpus Christi do need to take a few precautionary steps before slugging back that first glass of refreshing H2O. The following steps were released by the city when the boil water notice was lifted:
For Residents
- Flush building water lines by allowing both the hot and cold water to run for several minutes at each fixture.
- Filters on faucet filtration systems or whole house filters do not have to be replaced since no E.coli was detected in the water system.
- Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle.
For Restaurants and Food Establishments
- Flush pipes/faucets for several minutes.
- Flush equipment with waterline connections for a few minutes. This includes drinking fountains, post-mix beverage machines, spray misters, coffee or tea urns, glass washers, dishwashers, and other equipment with water connections. Clean and sanitize equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
- Flush drinking water fountains for a few minutes.
- Filters do not have to be replaced since no E.coli was detected in the water system.
- Clean and sanitize drinking water fountains.
- Clean and sanitize the ice machine.
