BELTON, Texas — The Boil Water Advisory that was issued for several Bell County could expire as soon as Tuesday afternoon, according to Ricky Garrett, the general manager of the Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1.
In a news conference Monday, Garrett said the cities included in the advisory were Belton, Nolanville, Harker Heights, Killeen, Copperas Cove and Fort Hood.
The water advisory was issued because of a major leak on a 48 inch transmission line that runs through Fort Hood on Saturday. The break occurred at 5 a.m. WCID 1 hired a contractor and was able to fix it by 6 a.m. the next morning, Garrett said.
"We were very fortunate to have equipment and people in close proximity," Garrett said.
The break caused one of WCID1's largest water plant, Belton Water Plant, to have a lower water supply than it's normal 90 million gallons Garrett said. He told reporters the break left their treatment plant in "recovery mode" but they would have been able to bounce back if nothing else went wrong.
Then their Belton Water Plant lost power around 1:10 p.m. Sunday. It wasn't restored until 4:30 p.m.
"So we were almost to a point to be back to good shape when we lost power at the Belton Water Plant," Garrett said.
Water pressure in their system then dropped to a level that could, possibly, allow for bacteria to grow and they alerted local communities.
A system-wide boil water notice was issued Sunday for residents in the cities the plant serves -- Belton, Nolanville, Harker Heights, Killeen, Copperas Cove -- as well as a request for these residents to conserve their water use until the Belton Water Plant's storage level is back to normal.
Below are nine ways to conserve water, according to the City of Nolanville.
Check your local city to see what they hope you'll do to conserve water:
- City of Belton -- click here
- City of Nolanville -- click here
- City of Harker Heights -- click here
- City of Killeen -- click here
- City of Copperas Cove -- click here
- Fort Hood -- click here
In order for local boil water notices to be lifted, both WCID 1 and local municipalities must have water samples tested at an environmental lab in Waco. WCID 1 had already driven their samples to Waco on Monday afternoon, as had some municipalities. Garrett said it normally takes 24 hours for them to get results. They hope to verify the water is safe for municipalities by Tuesday afternoon. If samples for a municipality indicate bacteria, another test sample will be required.
Garrett said they are using the Stillhouse Water Plant to help make up the difference in water storage levels, but it's only 5%.
On average, water usage is usually 35 million gallons a day, but they are currently producing 47 million gallons. Garrett said their goal is to at least have a water production rate of 60 million gallons a day.
He said to help ramp up the flow to 60 million a day to meet customer demand, WCID1 is bringing another facility online Monday.
Stay with 6 News as this story develops.