The boil water notice for the City of Houston has been lifted after testing determined the tap water is safe to drink.
Houston Public Works made the announcement at 6:40 a.m. on Tuesday.
Officials said customers no longer need to boil water before drinking, cooking, and making ice after water quality testing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe to drink.
‼ City of Houston Boil Water Notice is lifted. More information: https://t.co/0L98ZICHrC#BoilWaterNotice #HouWater #AlertHouston pic.twitter.com/nhWaQrq93U
— Houston Public Works (@HouPublicWorks) November 29, 2022
The city said Houstonians should flush their water system by running cold-water faucets for at least one minute, cleaning automatic ice makers by making and discarding several batches of ice, and running water softeners through a regeneration cycle.
The boil water notice has been rescinded. The water is safe to drink, brush your teeth, etc. I appreciate your patience. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) November 29, 2022
Anyone with questions about water safety can contact 311 or (713) 837-0311.
The City of Bellaire rescinded its boil water notice Monday night, saying Houston’s water system didn’t impact its water quality.
As of 7:00 PM on November 28, 2022, the City of Bellaire has rescinded the Boil Water Notice. https://t.co/ay7Ye2FQCu
?’s, Bellaire Public Works (713) 662 -8170 during regular business hours. You may call Bellaire Police Non-Emergency at 713-668-0487 after hours. pic.twitter.com/dzh7YdXMMd
— City of Bellaire (@cityofbellaire) November 29, 2022
Houston ISD and a number of other school districts canceled classes on Tuesday, for the second day in a row, due to the boil water notice.
Reporters asked city officials how this all happened in the first place.
They say it’s something they’re still working to investigate and can hopefully prevent from happening again.
It all started when three plants inside the East Water Purification Center lost power at 10:50 a.m. Sunday.
That triggered the water pressure to fall below the emergency standard of 20 PSI, where bacteria can grow more easily.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said they consulted with the state, but the boil water advisory was not issued until seven hours later, around 6:30 p.m.
He said a transformer at the water center also failed, as well as the backup transformer.
The city has a long-standing $56 million contract with NRG Energy Services for backup power generators.