A Major City Had To Shut All Schools Because Of Bad Water
Houston area schools are under a boil water advisory after pressure issues at a local plant
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This week the city of Houston had an unforeseen circumstance that involved the closure of all schools. Due to a loss in water pressure at the Houston water plant, a boil water notice was issued to its inhabitants. This notice was to ensure the continued safety of all citizens in the southern city.
Children across all schools were asked not to attend as a safety precaution. This is due to the water not being categorized as safe at the moment. The school district will provide an update in due course to parents in Houston affected by the school closures.
During a power outage on Sunday, the water dropped below the legal requirement of 20 PSI, meaning that the boil water notice had to be announced. It is a legal requirement that customers using the Houston water system receive a water boil notice following a discrepancy in the cleaning process of the water.
Any water used in households should be heated to above 100 degrees Celcius for over least two minutes to destroy potential contamination. This includes water used for drinking, cooking, and washing.
The discrepancy in the Houston water purification plant has been rectified since the crash on Sunday, but the restrictions on water usage will remain in place until later this week. A number of different tests will need to be carried out to ensure the water is usable before mass consumption can be resumed.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has received a sample plan of the contaminated water, and that plan could be approved quickly to ensure schools are safe and can resume promptly.
Once the TCEQ approves the plan, samples of the potentially contaminated water must be referred by the City of Houston to the TCEQ. These contaminated water samples have to be monitored in a laboratory environment for eighteen hours to ensure no bacterial or microbial growth. If it is clear of any contamination, the TCEQ will give the green light to resume regular water use. So as of now, the city of Houston is waiting to receive laboratory results to confirm the water is safe.
If the results come back that the water is contaminated, then a new purification plan for the water will take place, and the boil water notice will have to stay in place for longer. If this happens, there has been no information about whether the schools will remain closed.
Both the city of Houston and the TCEQ are working closely and quickly to get the problem under control and get the kids back to school.
While no doubt the children are happy to be off school, this will be like a snow day for them; water safety has to be taken very seriously. Please adhere to the restrictions if there is a boil water notice in your area. There are so many species of bacteria that could cause people harm in our waters. It is why water goes through a rigorous purification process. Hopefully, regular water use can return soon to Houston.
