Boil water notice issued for Blanco after repair of water leak

BLANCO, Texas - The water came back on in Blanco around mid-morning on Tuesday, Jan. 16. It was a return to service after repair crews spent several long and cold hours working in muddy holes. 

Mayor Mike Arnold had high praise for the city workers who got the town’s water supply back online. 

"I learned last night not every superhero wears a cape. Some of them wear rubber boots and reflective vests. Those guys are rock stars, thank you to them," said Mayor Arnold. 

There were two water line breaks on Monday, Jan. 15. One in the town square, and the other along Hwy 281 & 4th St. 

Video of one of two breaks showed water pouring into a corner of the town square on Monday. The water pooled in front of a popular BBQ spot managed by Allen Lieck.

"Well, I mean, there really isn't a reaction to have other than what do we do for the store? And we had already closed because of the temperatures we had already planned on closing at three on Monday. We wound up closing at one," said Lieck. 

MORE STORIES:

• How to prevent pipes from freezing in cold weather
• Texas arctic blast: How to determine frost bite, hypothermia
• Austin weather: Record-breaking lows hit city due to arctic blast

This isn’t the first water crisis for Blanco. The town, with a population just under 2,000, nearly ran dry back in the summer because of a supply problem. That was addressed.

"A lot of small towns have this problem. Our infrastructure has been built over decades, and is not always done right. And it's been held together with duct tape and baling wire. And, our team is doing a great job putting Band-Aids on it and fixing them up as we go, but we really need a complete overhaul," said Mayor Arnold.  

A boil water notice, which may last several days, could keep doors to some stores and restaurants closed. 

"Lose a lot of business on the days that can't be open. And the water problems for sure," said business owner Kathy Chesnut. 

Lieck hopes to be serving BBQ for the Wednesday lunch crowd. 

"And then we've got a dance going on, back 40 tomorrow night that we're not canceling for anything. I mean, it'll give people the chance to get out and about," said Lieck, who is looking forward to a forecast of about 44 degrees. 

That warm up could cause another round of line breaks as the ground expands. Mayor Arnold addressed that concern.

"We can't be prepared for everything, but we have our utility management company, Inframark. It's a larger company, they're pulling in another crew from out of town to be here. So we're on top of it as we can be for sure," said Mayor Arnold.  

The city, later this year, hopes to start phase 1 of a water line improvement project.