The city of Longview on Friday lifted a boil water order for residents.
Water samples collected received good test results after the boil water order was issued following a main water line break early Wednesday.
“This test confirms that the water in Longview is safe for consumption, following our recent citywide event,” Director of Public Works Dwayne Archer said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our crews that quickly isolated the issue and restored our system without any additional complications.”
City staff on Thursday collected water at two homes and sent the sample to be tested at a third-party laboratory. The city on Friday said the results were good, and that residents can again consume city water without first boiling it.
The city continued to flush the water system, it said in a statement. Residents who experience any discoloration in city water should run the system for a time to allow water to circulate.
Prior to consumption, the city suggested residents follow these guidelines:
Flush hot water faucets for 15 minutes and cold-water faucets for five minutes or until it feels cold.
Flush your refrigerator filter with a least a quart of water, or change the filter.
Automatic ice dispensers should be emptied of ice made during the boil order and run through a 24-hour cycle, discarding the ice to assure purging of the icemaker water supply line.
Run your dishwasher empty for a full cycle.
Change all water filters currently in use.
Residents with additional water issues should contact the Public Works Department at (903) 237-1240.
In a video posted Friday afternoon on city social media pages, Longview Mayor Andy Mack celebrated the end of the boil order surrounded by Public Works Department employees. He held up a clear plastic cup half filled with water and took a long drink.
“Longview, the boil ban has been lifted,” Mack said. “Yes!”
Mack thanked everyone involved in the effort and high-fived members of the crowd behind him.
“What I want to really say is this: Sometimes our heroes come in the form of police and fire; this week, it came in the form of Public Works. These are our heroes that put our city back together in just a couple of days,” he said.
Archer said in a statement Thursday that it was “the most significant water line break we have ever experienced.”
The boil water notice was issued shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday following a break in a 30-inch water main along Loop 281 near Birdsong Street. In a video the city posted Thursday, Archer said the city became aware of the leak when operators started seeing a decrease in volume in city tanks. He said city staff then started driving the roads to find it.
“It took us a while to locate it. It was under a bridge, and it was night so it was difficult to find,” Archer said.
Crews found the leak at about midnight Wednesday and went to work to try to isolate the valves that would contain the leak, which would allow the city to bring pressure back up for the rest of its customers.
In the hours after the leak was discovered, some residents had no water as others experienced very little pressure.
“Once we started losing pressure in our system and it got fairly low, it became evident there may be some chloroform growth,” Archer said. “So, the state of Texas says, ‘Hey you need to issue that (boil order notice) within 24 hours.’ ”
The situation caused all three of the main school districts that service the city — Longview, Pine Tree and Spring Hill ISDs — to cancel classes on Wednesday. Pine Tree and Spring Hill ISDs resumed classes Thursday, while Longview ISD students returned Friday.
The water main break also sent residents scrambling for clean drinking water and businesses, especially restaurants, examining how to continue to serve customers.
Water distribution points were set up for residents to get free drinking water. Bottled water provided by Brookshire Grocery Co. was available Wednesday at the Longview Convention Complex, 100 Grand Blvd., and at the Longview Mall. The city on Thursday consolidated to just the Longview Convention Complex with bottled water and bulk water available for residents who bring water-safe containers.
A portion of North Longview was excluded from the boil water notice because it is in a separate “pressure zone,” the city said.
On Thursday, city workers restored pressure to the system and refilled Longview’s tanks. Crews opened fire hydrants across the city to make sure air is out of the pipes. Other staff visited residences to gather water samples to be tested.
Initial reports that the boil water notice would last at least through Saturday were revised after the city clarified Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements for it to lift the order. The city first said it needed two good reports on samples taken 24 hours apart then revised that statement to one sample.
Those results came Friday, and the city reported at about 11:20 a.m. that the needed results were back, and the order was lifted.
“I tell you, when you have a 30-inch water line break like that, that’s a significant break,” Archer said Thursday. And I tell you, it took engineering staff, it took the staff out in the field to isolate that, to go ahead and get it to where we can go ahead and pressurize up the system.
“It took employees at the plants, and I’m going to tell you that every one of those folks, everybody involved in that process has done an amazing job. And we were able to quickly, within 24 hours really, start getting those pressures back up and that’s amazing. They did a fantastic job. They really did.”
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