Austin City Council calling for independent audit at Austin Water
AUSTIN, Texas - Austinites were relieved after receiving the all clear that a boil water notice in place for days was over.
"There was a turbidity spike occurring, and it was impacting finished water, water that goes outside the plant. We immediately shut down the plant and began the process of assessing what happened," said Greg Meszaros, Austin Water Director, on Sunday.
This is the city's third boil water notice in four years, something several Austin City Council members are calling unacceptable. Council member Mackenzie Kelly remembers very well how she felt after receiving that text from the city."Not again. This is a basic city service that we should be providing to the community," said Kelly.
Austin Water lifts boil water notice for majority of customers
The boil water notice has officially been lifted after four days for a majority of people in Travis County but some wholesale customers are still not in the clear. FOX 7 Austin's Kelly Saberi has more on that and an external audit on Austin Water.
That's why Kelly is co-sponsoring a resolution brought forward by Alison Alter, calling for an independent audit of Austin Water.
"I’m very disturbed by some revelations coming to light about it possibly being an employee who failed to act," said Kelly.
Council member Vanessa Fuentes is also on board. She is the chairperson of the Austin Water Oversight Committee. "Austinites are frustrated, they want to know- what are we doing with our infrastructure here? Why does this keep happening?" said Fuentes.
"We will be having a conversation on Tuesday as an entire council about the incident as well as another conversation on Thursday," said Fuentes.
Fuentes said she is confident this item will pass at the next council meeting. "The action part is what I’m focusing on. So once we get this audit back we have to ensure that we follow through on the recommendations that are provided," Fuentes said.
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MORE HEADLINES:
Explaining what 'turbidity' is, and why it caused a citywide boil water notice
Austin Water lifts boil water notice for majority of customers
Water boil notice impacting Austin restaurants, schools
Water crisis continues in Austin as medical experts issue their own warning
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