UPDATE at 10 a.m. Feb. 20: The City of Arlington announces that the precautionary city-wide boil water alert has been lifted at 10 a.m.
Arlington Water Utilities’ laboratories reported this morning that all 22 tap water samples collected from sites across the city met Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requirements. Safety testing of water is required by the TCEQ after a drop in system-wide pressure such as the one Arlington experienced mid-morning Wednesday.
Arlington Water Utilities has worked diligently throughout the week to repair water line breaks on public infrastructure and conduct emergency water shut-offs for homes and businesses experiencing water line breaks to meet the community’s increased weather-related demand. Normal water pressure was fully restored on Friday morning.
Please click here to read the City of Arlington's official notice about the boil water alert being lifted at 10 a.m. Feb. 20, 2021.
____________________________________
UPDATE at 5:50 p.m. Feb. 19: Arlington Water Utilities laboratory staff started the clock at 4 p.m. Friday on water samples from throughout the City that will determine when a boil order advisory ends. Results will be available Saturday morning. In the meantime, water utilities crews continued to fix breaks on public water mains that cropped up as pressure as the City’s water distribution system came back to full water pressure. They also worked with residents and businesses to find and shutoff breaks on public water service lines.
Safety testing of water is required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality after a drop in system-wide pressure such as the one Arlington experienced mid-morning Wednesday. The City has had no indication that water quality was compromised. Arlington has 100 regulatory testing sites pre-determined in 22 sectors throughout Arlington. The samples were drawn from representative taps in those areas.
Eighteen hours is needed for incubation and assessment of the laboratory tests. Areas with satisfactory results will have the boil alert lifted immediately. Results that register unclear results after 18 hours would have to be incubated for another six hours. If sample results are not satisfactory, then retesting in that area will be required until results meet TCEQ requirements.
Also, on Friday:
• Water Utilities field operations crews repaired six main breaks, three of which were on South Davis Drive. Along with the Arlington Fire Department, water employees also continued to turn off water at about 50 homes and businesses where leaks were discovered.
• The water department is using data from remotely read water meters to try to address private plumbing breaks that have not been discovered. Meter data was isolated to show addresses with unusually high continuous water use for the previous 48 hours, using a threshold that is far higher than dripping faucets would cause. Those results were cross-referenced with addresses where the department had already been asked to shut off water. If no contact had been made previously, the department is reaching out to the customer to make sure there are no unattended breaks that could harm property and waste water.
Apartment complex residents who are still without water service continued to contact the City on Friday. The Water Department has been in touch with the management at numerous apartment complexes to inquire whether repairs were still being made at the property. If you are in an apartment complex and do not have water service, please contact the apartment management before calling Arlington Water Utilities. Water may have been shut off for other water line breaks in the apartment complex and management will need to contact the City to return service. For emergency water cutoffs, please continue to call 911.
______________________________________________________________
UPDATE at 10:09 a.m. Feb. 19: Water pressure throughout Arlington returned to normal levels early Friday and laboratory tests are underway to determine when to lift a precautionary boil water alert. The city-wide boil water alert remains in effect until the results of water safety testing throughout the city’s distribution system are available, which are expected on Saturday.
Safety testing of water is required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality after a drop in system-wide pressure such as the one Arlington experienced mid-morning Wednesday. The City has had no indication that water quality was compromised.
However, when pressure drops bacteria could enter the system through breaks in the pipes. The testing will confirm that the treated water prevented bacteria from entering the system.
Eighteen hours after collection and lab set up is required for incubation and assessment of the samples, said Craig M. Cummings, Arlington Water Utilities Director. Cummings said the samples will be drawn from representative taps throughout the city. Arlington has 100 regulatory testing sites pre-determined in 22 sectors of the Arlington.
Areas with satisfactory results will have the boil alert lifted immediately. If sample results are not satisfactory, then retesting in that area will be required until results meet TCEQ requirements.
As treatment professionals and laboratory teams prepare to lift the boil water advisory, Arlington Water field operations crews were also working to repair four active leaks on water mains in the City. Those breaks have all been isolated using valves and water is not being lost from them, Cummings said.
Arlington Water Utilities and the Arlington Fire Department also continue to respond to dozens of emergency water cutoff calls from homes and businesses where breaks have occurred. Several prior breaks in City water mains and breaks in private plumbing lines, especially larger fire suppression system supply lines, contributed to the drop in pressure on Wednesday. The City has also saw increased water use as customers drip faucets to prevent freezing pipes.
____________________________________
UPDATE at 6:08 p.m. Feb. 18: Arlington Water Utilities received as many as 150 “emergency off” calls on Thursday from homes and businesses where a private plumbing or water service line broke after freezing. Locating and shutting down the flow of water to those pipes is helping the water system build pressure back to necessary levels, officials say.
A precautionary city-wide boil water alert remains in effect in Arlington for tap water consumption. It was issued Wednesday morning after a drop in water distribution system pressure throughout the system. At first, it looked like a major water main break on City infrastructure was causing the drop in pressure, according to Water Utilities Director Craig M. Cummings.
“Over the last 36 hours we have found several breaks in the public system, but not one major break. In addition, we’ve found more than 100 private line breaks, some of which were in fire suppression lines that can spew thousands of gallons of water an hour. Together those can all mimic that one major break we thought we had,” he said.
Cummings said he feels confident that the department is now getting ahead of those breaks and the city’s demand, and has been able to begin refilling its network of elevated water towers, which are necessary for maintaining pressure. Normal water pressure should be restored by Friday evening, with the system already at about 75 percent of its normal pressure Thursday afternoon. After pressure is fully restored, Arlington Water Laboratory staff will collect about 100 samples throughout the city to determine when it is safe to lift the precautionary boil order. State-testing for safety requires a day for results.
Other data the department reported Thursday included:
- Thursday’s emergency off calls from customers were in addition to about 100 emergency-off calls the previous night. All of the calls were handled by the water department and the Arlington Fire Department.
- The Water Department also repaired one water line break overnight on a City water main and was working to isolate the flow to another break on a 12-inch water main under South Cooper Street Thursday afternoon.
- Both AWU treatment plants are operating to meet high demand. Together, the Arlington plants were producing tap water at a rate of 78 million gallons of water a day (MGD) Thursday afternoon.
Water professionals say the demand also stemmed from water dripping at faucets all over the City to prevent freezing pipes. They say residents can continue that practice as temperatures drop tonight. But, they hope residents will put off non-essential water uses like laundry until after the boil water alert is lifted. In the meantime, Arlington crews will also be on the lookout for any water line breaks on public infrastructure that could be a drain on the system. About two dozen water and sewer field crew employees will work through the night and be replaced on Friday morning with a similar number.
Reminder: for emergency water cut offs, call 9-1-1.
UPDATE at 11:39 a.m. Feb. 18: Arlington Water Utilities customers should see a steady increase in water pressure throughout today and Friday, according to Water Department Director Craig Cummings. However, residents and businesses will need to continue to reserve water for essential purposes as the department works to adequately fill and maintain levels in elevated storage in the distribution system.
A precautionary city-wide boil water alert remains in effect for tap water consumption. Normal water pressure should be restored by Friday evening. After that, laboratory testing will be conducted throughout the City to determine when it is safe to lift the precautionary boil order.
“We are making great strides at repressurizing and putting water back into the Arlington Water Utilities system,” Cummings said. “And we appreciate the community’s patience as our department staff works day and night to resolve these water distribution challenges.”
Cummings said homeowners may still drip faucets to prevent frozen pipes during expected below freezing over the next 24 hours. Though, the department is hoping residents with restored water pressure will hold off on non-essential tasks like laundry until after the boil water alert is lifted.
For customers who are completely without water service (even at low pressure), frozen pipes may still be an issue for some homeowners. If you have no water service and do not believe frozen pipes are to blame, please call the City’s Action Center at 817-275-5931 so that the information about the outage can be reported to Arlington Water Utilities. If you are in an apartment complex and do not have water service, please contact the apartment management before calling Arlington Water Utilities. Water may have been shut off for other water line breaks in the apartment complex and management will need to contact the City to return service. For emergency water cut offs call 911.
UPDATE at 6:41 a.m. Feb. 18: Arlington Water Utilities made progress overnight in restoring service to homes and businesses where water may have been unavailable after a drop in pressure mid-morning Wednesday. A city-wide boil water alert issued as a necessary precaution remains in effect for Arlington with all customers being asked to boil tap water before consuming.
Restoration of distribution system water pressure to normal levels is expected by Friday evening. Then, Arlington Water Laboratory staff will test water throughout the City to comply with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality guidelines for lifting the precautionary boil order advisory. As temperatures climb above freezing later today and Friday, water department officials hope that increased demand on the system from dripping of faucets, as well as water and plumbing line breaks, will ease.
Arlington Fire Department personnel assisted Arlington Water Utilities crews overnight last night with approximately 100 emergency private water line shut off requests throughout the City. If you have a broken water line or see a broken water line, please call 9-1-1 so it can be logged and repaired as quickly as possible.
Click here to read Frequently Asked Questions for citizens to learn more about the boil water alert.
Click here for helpful advice from the US Centers for Disease Control on boil water advisories.
UPDATE at 9:39 p.m.: Arlington Water Utilities staff will be working through the night at treatment facilities and throughout the City to restore and maintain water service. Please continue to boil water for consumption until the City’s boil water advisory is lifted. Full restoration of system pressure expected in approximately 48 hours.
City staff has also been working throughout the day Wednesday to resolve weather-related issues, including:
- The rapid opening of a second water treatment plant to meet demand early Wednesday morning. The water department’s Treatment Maintenance team worked quickly to service equipment at the John F. Kubala Treatment Plant.
- Cloud based data pressure recorders are being deployed by Water Department engineers to track the progress of the water distribution operations and restoration of pressure.
- The department’s Laboratory Team is preparing for its water sampling in preparation for the boil water notice to be lifted in the future.
- The Arlington Fire Department is handling emergency water shutoffs at homes and businesses that are requested by customers because of an active private water line or plumbing line break. Arlington Water crews received more than 220 of these calls on Wednesday.
Many residents have asked what steps they should take overnight if they are currently without water service. Be careful not to turn faucets on to check if water is available and leave faucets on full blast. Doing this could result in flooding when water is restored. If you were dripping faucets before water service was interrupted mid-morning, it should begin dripping when pressure is restored.
If you have a broken water line or see a broken water line, please call 9-1-1 so it can be logged and repaired as quickly as possible.
-------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE at 6:58 p.m.: Arlington Water Utilities continues working to produce enough tap water to meet usage demands, with restoration of system pressure expected in approximately 48 hours. As water service is restored, please continue to boil water for consumption until the boil water alert is lifted.
Water utilities staff worked throughout the night into Wednesday morning to bring the City’s second water treatment plant online in order to meet increased weather-related demand. Arlington is currently supplying water to the City’s three water pressure planes with a combination of water from the Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant and the John F. Kubala Treatment Plant. Typically, water demand during February is about 30 to 35 million gallons a day. In the previous 24 hours, the demand has been twice that number. Only one plant is usually needed for winter water demands.
Please continue to conserve water throughout the evening and early morning so that elevated storage tanks throughout the distribution system can refill throughout the night. These tanks are essential in restoring water pressure at TCEQ-required levels. A pressure drop below these levels caused the precautionary boil order alert to be issued on Wednesday. Once pressure is restored to acceptable levels, water safety tests can begin. These tests are required to be completed before the City’s boil order can be lifted.
If you have a broken water line or see a broken water line, please call 9-1-1 so it can be logged and repaired as quickly as possible.
UPDATE at 4:32 p.m.: Arlington Water Utilities continues efforts to restore water pressure and service to homes and businesses. Officials now estimate it will take approximately 48 hours for the water distribution system to return to normal pressure levels. As pressure is restored, safety tests will be conducted to determine when the boil alert for the city can be lifted. Please continue to boil water for consumption until the alert has been lifted.
According to Arlington Water Utilities Director Craig M. Cummings, the City of Arlington began experiencing water demands of almost twice the normal usage within the past 24 hours. At about 10 a.m., officials saw an even larger surge in demand that caused water pressure in the system to fall dramatically and some homes to lose pressure.
“What we have seen resembles the pressure drop we would see with a very large main break. However, after investigating throughout the city, we believe the dramatic drop in pressure was due to the increased demand we were already seeing and many small to medium breaks on private water lines due to weather conditions,” Cummings said.
If you have a water line break at your house or business, please call 9-1-1 so that the issue can be recorded and corrected as quickly as possible.
The boil water alert is a precaution required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. No indication that water quality has been compromised has been found, Cummings said.
Arlington Water Utilities crews have responded more than 100 calls for service in the past 24 hours, with many of those calls coming from customers asking that water to busted pipes be turned off at the curb. In addition, crews have repaired about a half dozen water main breaks on city-owned infrastructure during that time.
To help meet demand, Arlington Water Utilities had already began producing water at its second water treatment plan, the John F. Kubala Water Treatment Plant, on Wednesday morning. The Kubala plant and the City’s Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant are both treating water currently.
UPDATE at 2:37 p.m. Arlington Water Utilities is working aggressively to resolve issues, including a possible water main break, that have caused a pressure drop in the City’s water system. This drop in pressure has caused some customers to lose water service. For those who still have water service, you may experience low water pressure and all tap water must be boiled prior to consumption until the situation is resolved. We are not yet able to provide an estimated time frame for when water service will return to normal. Please be assured we will provide regular updates on the status of this emergency situation. You can also find more information on www.arlingtontx.gov and on the City’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Due to unprecedented demand and a possible major water main break, some Arlington Water Utilities customers may be without water service. For those with water, pressure may be reduced and tap water must be boiled prior to consumption . The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requires that a boil water notice be issued because of a recent pressure drop in the distributions system for the City Arlington.
This order advises all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.
Arlington Water Utilities is working to restore water pressure in the distribution system.
To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be consumed with boiling or otherwise treating. Follow the guidelines below for ensuring your water is safe for consumption:
- Boil water to a vigorous rolling boil for five minutes then cool completely prior to using.
- In lieu of boiling, you may purchase bottled water.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.
Periodic updates will be provided as the situation changes, but if you have questions regarding this matter you may contact Arlington Water Utilities Department at 817-275-5931.
If you wish to contact the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, call 512-239-1000.
Winter Storm
News, Government, Water Utilities, Community, Business