BEAUMONT — An area of south Beaumont and extending even beyond the city limits, including portions of U.S. Highway 69 and SH 347, as well as Hebert Road and all of the prisons, are under a Boil Water Notice after the city says a contractor working on a project accidentally connected a sewer line to a water line.
The affected areas include:
-The 6000 block of U.S. Highway 69 through the 3800 block of U.S. Highway 69.
-The 6300 block of State Highway 347 through the 1500 block of State Highway 347.
-Hebert Road.
-The county, state, and federal prison facilities located in the area.
Ward 1 Councilman Joey Hilliard posted information that during the work on the Linde project near OCI, a contractor accidentally connected a sewer line to a water line, necessitating a Boil Water Notice.
The Linde project is a $1.8 billion project to supply clean hydrogen to OCI’s Blue Ammonia plant in Beaumont.
Ward 2 Councilman Cory Crenshaw posted that an employee at a bail bond company on Highway 69 says they notified the city two weeks ago about brown water in toilets and the sink and were told it’s not the city’s problem. That employee says finally, City workers came out to their site and began “digging and whispering.”
The City posted this information today:
Due to found cross connection, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Beaumont PWS# 1230001 public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.
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.
In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.
Ward 1 Councilman Cory Crenshaw posted about the concerns Thursday on his Facebook page:
I appreciate Tamara Ritenour tagging me in this post. I have shared it with the City Manager and asked that it be immediately investigated. This is completely unacceptable. It appears the issue is only affecting customers off Hwy 69 near the jail, prisons and OCI. Again no reason this issue was ignored for so long. Standby for the city’s response and customer directions.
The embedded post from Thursday reads:
I’ve heard horror stories of Beaumont City water being bad but having actual sewage water running through our sink faucet’s and toilets at the office for the last 2 weeks is absolutely horrendous……After MULTIPLE calls to the city over the last 2 weeks and them telling us it’s not their problem we have in fact verified with our own plumber that it is actual sewage and feces coming from our faucets and toilets….
In the last hour we have had MULTIPLE bosses and workers from the City of Beaumont out here digging and whispering.
Do better Beaumont…..2 weeks is WAY to long to have to deal with this….
Ward 2 Councilman Joey Hilliard added follow-up information on the post:
Good evening, everyone. We wanted to give you a quick update regarding a water issue affecting areas primarily near the prison facilities.
During work on the Linde (near OCI) project, a contractor accidentally connected a sewer line to a water line. Out of an abundance of caution and in coordination with TCEQ, a Boil Water Notice will be issued for the affected area.
Our teams are actively working to resolve the issue, and we are hopeful the notice can be lifted by Saturday pending required testing and approval. A map of the affected area and an official press release will be released shortly.
We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience as we work to ensure the safety of our water system. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.