Houston residents remained under a boil-water notice on Monday, forcing the state’s largest public school system to close schools for the day.
“Due to the Boil Water Notice issued by the City of Houston late this evening, all Houston ISD schools, offices, and facilities will be closed Monday, Nov. 28. #HISD will closely monitor the situation and provide additional updates regarding operations tomorrow,” Houston ISD wrote in a
statement on Twitter Sunday night.
The city of Houston issued the boil-water
notice after a reported power outage at the East Water Purification Plant at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. The outage caused the city’s water pressure to fall below 20 pounds per square inch (psi), a minimum required by the state.
Houston ISD serves more than 194,000 students.
Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide resources to support the city of Houston.
“The State of Texas is immediately responding and deploying support to Houston as they work to get a safe supply of water back online,” Abbott said in a
statement on Sunday.
“We have been in contact with Mayor [Sylvester] Turner to offer the full support of the state, and we’re currently working to fulfill the city’s request for help with rapid turnaround of water sample results,” Abbott continued.
Officials ‘Believe the Water Is Safe’
On Sunday evening, Turner said his office believes the water is safe but that the city is required to wait 24 hours after water samples are cleared to lift the boil water notice.“We believe the water is safe but based on regulatory requirements when pressure drops below 20 psi we are obligated to issue a boil water notice. The City is submitting its plan to TCEQ for approval tonight,” Turner
tweeted.
“Water samples will subsequently follow and hopefully we will get the all clear from TCEQ. The city has to wait 24 hours from that point before the boil water notice is suspended. The earliest would be tomorrow night or very early Tuesday morning,” he added in another tweet.
Abbott urged the city’s more than 2 million residents to continue boiling water until the boil water notice is suspended.
“We urge those that the boil water affects to continue heeding the guidance of local officials and take adequate precautions when boiling and using water. Together, we will ensure our fellow Texans are supported while the city’s water supply returns,” Abbott said.
The
city is recommending residents only drink tap water after boiling it for at least two minutes and allowing it to cool before use. Those who are unable to boil their water are advised to use bottled water for drinking and cooking.
It’s unclear whether Houston schools will reopen on Tuesday.
