Main break leave parts of Odessa waterless
Jun. 14—City of Odessa workers were working furiously Tuesday morning to both fix a 24-inch water line break and to assist local hospitals and residents dealing with the water shut-off and boil alert that has ensued.
City workers were notified of a possible water line break around dinnertime Monday and traced it back to a 24-inch transmission line at 42nd and San Jacinto streets around 9 p.m. At that time, citizens were asked to minimize their use of water, but shortly after 1 a.m. the city issued a Boil Water Notice at the request of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Some city residents reported water pressure problems while others were completely without water.
Early this morning, the city set up an incident command center at the Ector County Coliseum and Deputy City Manager Phillip Urrutia and Fire Chief John Alvarez held a news conference.
As of 8 a.m., the water line break had just been unearthed, but crews were waiting to begin to make repairs until gas lines and other utility lines had been identified to ensure their safety, the men said.
Although it's unknown how long the repairs will take, it will be at least 24 hours before the boil alert is lifted because city officials want to make sure the water is free of bacteria and safe to consume, they said.
The water line break is not directly related to the water line breaks in Lawndale last month, although they were prompted by the same issue, Urrutia said.
"It's an aging infrastructure that we're seeing. It's a cast iron pipe and so those are typically more susceptible to breaks then other new technologies like PVC pipe that's going in the ground," Urrutia said. "At this point they're unearthing the line to see how bad the damage is and if they're able to put a saddle on the pipe and repair it with the saddle they'll do that. If it is over a lot of damage they will go in and try and either replace that cast iron or splice in some type of PVC pipe at this point."
The city is currently providing water to Medical Center Hospital and Odessa Regional Medical Center because officials had expressed concern about their "chillers," the men said.
MCH's emergency room remains open, but it has closed all of its clinics and surgeries have been cancelled at both hospitals and patients are being diverted.
Ector County Independent School District has also cancelled its summer school sessions and Ector County closed all of its offices.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management has arranged for drinking water to be delivered to the coliseum and McKinney Park for city residents, Urrutia said. An announcement will be made when it arrives and will be made available.
Tankers of water are being strategically placed around the city in the event of any fires, Urrutia said.
"I'm proud of the community coming together. The City of Midland has been great and actually Midland's utility crews were with us last night providing assistance," Urrutia said. "We have Midland Fire Department providing us help and Ector county is bringing us resources. We've notified Andrews County and all of the volunteer firefighters have their takers ready to go if we need them."
Alvarez, who has been with the city more than 30 years, said this is the first time he's seen a city-wide water issue, but this scenario is one of many the city anticipates and prepares for.
"What we call ourselves is all hazards approach. It could be anything, earthquake, active shooter, this mess here. We try to do everything," Alvarez said.
According to officials, children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria.
To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.
