HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Dozens of north Harris County residents are on their 12th day without drinkable water.
The privately-owned well that supplies water to the Pine Oak Forest subdivision north of FM 1960 began running into issues on March 27.
The well’s owner, Aggregate Water Services, said the well is no longer producing enough water, resulting in long periods of low pressure.
As a result, Thomas Yanez and his family are now relying on water from their pool or bottled water to complete basic tasks.
“Having to wake up and wash up with bottles of water and, you know, wash dishes and warm up water, it’s a real big inconvenience,” Yanez said.
“You try to take a bath you’ve got to let the water drip, drip, drip,” said resident Shedrick Fears. “Takes about 10 to 15 minutes, just enough so you can get your rear end at the water level.”
Even during brief periods when the water returns to full pressure, residents say it’s frequently cloudy.
Harris County Public Health is urging residents to boil water for 1 to 2 minutes before using.
“We’ve been eating out almost every day, so it’s just – probably about $5,000 it’s cost me just in food and in hotel expenses,” said resident, Fernando Martinez.
Hotels and restaurants aren’t an option for Thomas Soto’s neighbor and her bedridden father. So each day, Soto’s been running a hosepipe from his private well across the street to her house.
“We help our neighbors,” Soto said. “We give them water.”
Aggregate said it’s seeking permission to connect its water lines to neighboring water supplies.
An attorney for CNP Utility District said it plans to discuss letting the company tap into its supply at next week’s board meeting, but said the move would also require the approval of multiple government agencies and therefore couldn’t offer a firm timeline.
“This is ridiculous. I mean, there’s other countries that have access to water. These two blocks don’t have access to no water,” said Yanez.
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