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.
Last month was a tough one for Corpus Christi. A state agency issued a boil water notice because of bad water samples, the city manager resigned over it and the city council began holding daily media conferences and even a special meeting during which residents vented their frustrations over what turned out to be 13 days without drinkable water.
“People in Corpus Christi don’t deserve this,” council member Michael Hunter told Corpus Christi Business News. “I think a lot of people have questions. People want to be informed, and (city council members) need to be as informed as everybody.”
As the boil water notice was lifted on the afternoon of May 25, the city announced plans to continue testing its water supply and investigate the reasons for the boil notice to better prevent it from happening again. May’s boil water notice was not only the third in 10 months, it was the longest citywide notice.
“What’s important now is how we move forward and making sure we are accountable to you,” said Mayor Nelda Martinez, addressing residents during the final media conference May 25. “We understand the importance of providing you a safe water supply. That is a fundamental service that we have. We will all be working together to find out what went wrong and how we can do better to make sure that, in the future, this is a city we can all be proud of.”
At a recent media conference, Rose announced the city would be hiring outside investigators to find answers and provide long-term solutions.
“We understand how difficult this has been for our residents and businesses,” said acting city manager Margie C. Rose, who will take over as interim city manager June 24. “Our goal is to continue to pursue a third-party review and learn from this to make our city better.”
This month, the council is expected to keep the issue on the agenda, with the intention of having an action plan ready for a vote at the June 14 meeting. That could include hiring an outside consultant to investigate the city’s ongoing water problems and make a $1 million investment in the O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant. The work would involve a system for removing nitrogen from source water as it enters the plant, a problem exacerbated by heavy rains.
Also under consideration is whether to continue using the stronger disinfectant and adding more frequent testing to the current schedule of testing 98 points in the system twice a month. The samples are sent to the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, the agency that issued the boil water notice when samples showed low chlorine samples. No bacteria was detected.
At a special meeting May 23, council members — in particular, Colleen McIntyre — grilled TCEQ staffers about how much discrepancy the agency has when determining to place a boil water notice. She pointed out that, in her research, she found at least four other cities in the state with more cases of low chlorine levels that were not made to issue a notice.
“I’m trying to understand what our staff needs to know to prevent this,” McIntyre said. “We seem to be treated differently than other cities.”
Susan Clewis, TCEQ regional director, explained that Corpus Christi’s low readings came from several different areas and the city was not able to respond within 24 hours to increase chlorine readings.
“We had 98 sites, and only four or five were below 0.5,” McIntyre said. “Why was the boil water notice citywide when it’s obvious that certain areas are not affected and are even on a different pressure system?”
Clewis gave a somewhat testy response.
“Until the system seems to stabilize, we have to protect the public health,” she said, before easing up a bit. “We are willing to work with y’all as you continue your investigation. We do sincerely want to work with y’all to solve this problem.”
Much of the discussion centered on what constitutes a dangerously low chloramine level. Chloramine is the disinfectant the city used until the new process was started last week with free chlorine, a chlorine disinfectant that is free of ammonia. All of the officials speaking said the lack of chlorine in the water was never dangerous.
While the city requires intervention when the chloramine levels dip below 1 milligram per liter, the state requirement is set at 0.5 milligrams. Federal standards are at 0.0. Only three of 98 testing locations showed a consistent drop of below 0.5 milligrams.
“The biggest thing I take from this is that at no time were the reading levels unstable,” council member Rudy Garza Jr. said. “At no time was the public in danger. According to federal standards, we were never in danger.”
Council members were also unhappy with a 10-year turnaround for capital improvement projects, specifically four elevated tanks necessary to keep water flowing through the city’s system. The tanks could help keep chlorine distributed more evenly throughout the system. The money and need were stipulated in a capital improvement plan in 2007. Bid requests for two of the four tanks, which is all that is needed at this point, reported staff, were just recently sent out. Once bids are awarded, the tanks will take nine months to construct.
Residents attending the meeting were no happier than the council members. The city council chamber was packed with people, many who spoke, threatening to make their voices heard at the ballot box come Nov. 8 when all eight city council seats are up for re-election.
Council members, especially the mayor, were conciliatory and polite to everyone.
Residents wanted to know two main things: When would the boil notice be lifted and why were they paying for water they couldn’t use? Several asked for a break on the water charges for days when the boil water notice was in effect.
“I understand that it lessens the trust in our government and embarrasses what I consider a great city amongst its peers,” council member Chad Magill said. “I would like to ask each of you here in this room: Who has more clarity now than before they walked in here? I think progress is moving forward because each of us has spent time here today to find out what we can do to solve this.”
The council chamber was not the only platform residents utilized to voice their frustrations. One group started an online petition. About 1,500 signatures were collected in six days demanding new management for the city water department.
Another angry resident set up a petition signing table at a business on South Padre Island Drive to recall Mayor Martinez. According to election rules, petitioner Leah Tiner has 45 days to collect 16,500 signatures from eligible voters to get the recall on the ballot. She collected about 60 the first afternoon, but will need 366 a day over the next 45 days to make the required number.
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