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Boil Water Notice Information
Click on the headings below for more information about boil water notices.
What is a boil water notice?
A boil water notice is required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) if there is a reduction in water pressure in the public water system.
Boil water notices are issued to alert the public that the safety of the drinking water may have been compromised. This is most commonly due to breaks in water mains in the distribution system. Treatment technique violations such as low chlorine residual or high turbidity at the water treatment plant can also trigger a boil water notice but are extremely rare and have never occurred in San Angelo.
When a water main break occurs, it does not necessarily trigger a boil water notice. First, the water pressure must have dropped below 20 psi. Most water main breaks are repaired under pressure; therefore, no boil water notice is needed. Also, some water main breaks that have less than 20 psi can be isolated with valves and repaired. In these cases, the isolated section of water pipe will be flushed, disinfected with chlorine and sampled for bacteria to ensure the water remains safe. Only when a water main break drops below 20 psi and cannot be adequately isolated, repaired and disinfected will a boil water notice be required.
Whenever a boil water notice is issued, the City must inform customers that the water in the affected areas of the public water system should be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. During a boil water notice, the City is in constant contact with the TCEQ. A boil water notice cannot be rescinded until repairs have been completed, mains have been flushed, chlorine residual is acceptable and water samples have been collected and tested acceptable. A boil water notice normally lasts 24 to 48 hours due to the time needed to repair the leak, flush the lines and collect and test water samples. The water samples alone require a minimum 18 hours for completion. This process can take up to 1-2 days. These types of samples do not have to be sent off to Austin and can be processed locally.
The City of San Angelo will provide updates on the progress as they become available. Public notification will be given when a boil water notice is rescinded.
Replacing water infrastructure
The City is actively replacing old water mains and spends between $4-6 million annually repairing old water and sewer lines. One of the components of the $80-million plan to rebuild San Angelo’s worst streets is replacing water and sewer mains beneath those roadways. This has been done on MLK Boulevard, Bell Street and will soon be underway on the Chadbourne Street project. There are 670 miles of water mains in San Angelo. Replacing the entire water infrastructure in the city is not something that can be done overnight.