Austin Water lifts boil water notice for majority of customers

Austin Water has lifted the boil water notice after four days for a majority of people in Travis County but some wholesale customers are still not in the clear.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Water has lifted the boil water notice for the majority of its customers in Travis County after four days. Water quality testing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe for human consumption.

Customers no longer need to boil water but there are a few guidelines you should follow before using water for drinking or cooking.

Run all cold-water faucets in your home for one minute
To flush automatic ice makers, make three batches of ice and discard
Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle

Food enterprises will be required by Austin Public Health to flush all water lines, including lines directly connected to ice machines, coffee machines, and any other food preparation equipment.

The boil water notice for following wholesale customers has been lifted:

Shady Hollow MUD
City of Sunset Valley
Marsha WSC
High Valley WSC
Creedmoor-Maha WSC

However, some wholesale customers still have the boil water notice in effect:

Rivercrest Water System
Morningside Subdivision
Nighthawk WSC

It's welcome news for customers, but there are many questions that remain. Austin City Council Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Alter is calling for an external audit of Austin Water. She says wants answers sooner though, calling on city manager Spencer Cronk to explain why Austin Water waited 12 hours to push out the boil water notice after detecting a turbidity in the water.

Austin Water issued the boil water notice to residents at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 5 but officials say Austin Water employees noticed cloudiness in the water at around 8 a.m. that day. The plant was shut down and water production was increased at two other plants.

As for a timeline for the audit, Alter says she hopes to have a resolution on the agenda for next Thursday’s city council meeting.

This was the city's third boil water notice since 2018. Austin Mayor Steve Adler echoed Alter's comments and said in a tweet, "We should not be dealing with frequent water boils, and we all have questions. The Council will be meeting next week so that the City Manager can answer questions for us and the public."

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