Shelves that contained bottled water, baby wipes and plastic utensils as alternatives to bathing and washing dishes, have been emptied at Corpus Christi stores. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
The city will begin flushing the water out of three tanks to clear out any contaminants, which could take 24 hours or more, announced Mayor Dan McQueen at a noon press conference Friday, Dec. 16. Once the tanks are flushed, samples will be taken and sent to Houston for testing by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Meanwhile, areas on the Southside and south of the airport should be able to use but NOT consume water as of 1 p.m. Friday. Currently, only Flour Bluff, Calallen and Padre Island are able to use city water, for both consumption and bathing.
The flushing is necessary to remove containment, McQueen said.
“We are not putting anything in the water to clean,” he said. “The reason we are flushing the tanks is we have to have the water go up and down the walls of the tank to clean them.”
He said no new information would be available until after his next meeting at 4 p.m., suggesting that the city would hold another press conference at 6 p.m.
“That’s a large volume of water and that is going to be a problem in the time it takes to physically flush all of this out,” McQueen said. “We are going to do one tank first and get a better picture of the time zone we’re dealing with.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will then take samples around the city. Samples are being sent to Houston for testing by the EPA. The EPA ’s Houston lab is the closest facility with the ability to test for the complicated chemicals leaked into the water: Indulin AA-86 and hydrochloric acid.
McQueen said he had no timeline yet for when water would be usable city wide, but it could be at least another day, maybe longer.
FOUR WATER STATIONS OPEN
Two more water distribution stations will be opened Friday afternoon. Currently water is being given out free, one case per car, at the Oveal Williams and Greenwood Senior Centers. The city will soon be adding the Corpus Christi Gym/Natatorium and the Garden Senior Center. All four sites will be open until 8 p.m. FridayAddresses for the centers are:
• Greenwood Senior Center, 4040 Greenwood Dr.
• Oveal Williams Senior Center, 1414 Martin Luther King Dr.
• Garden Senior Center, 5325 Greely Dr.
• Corpus Christi Gym and Natatorium., 3202 Cabaniss Rd.
