BRUCEVILLE-EDDY, Texas (KXXV) — Some Bruceville-Eddy residents and businesses have experienced water outages and low water pressure due to ongoing construction on the city’s sanitary sewer system.
- The problem stems from what the city says is an outdated utility map that doesn't locate the water main locations properly
- City Administrator Kent Manton says they are taking responsibility for the issues and quickly working on addressing the matter.
- City tells 25 News' Marc Monroy to stock up on water bottles because they expect the problem to persist as construction progresses.
- Manton recommends the Savvy Citizen app for all neighbors to download, as it has up-to-date notices and news from the city.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We’ve lost water like two or three times,” said one resident, who chose not to appear on camera.
According to city officials, the disruptions stem from construction challenges, including reliance on an incomplete and outdated utility map that does not accurately account for water main locations.
“Each time, they do send out a notification, or they’ll post it on social media that there’s little to no water pressure and that we might experience water outages, mainly when they work near our area,” the resident said.
City Administrator Kent Manton said crews are facing difficulties as Black Rock Construction works around water lines that were "not" documented adequately at the time it was installed.
"Many of these mains were installed at a time when properly documenting line locations was simply an afterthought and auxiliary to ‘getting the line laid," Manton said.
This has caused frustration for local businesses, including Little Eagles Daycare.
“We had to close both times because if we don’t have running water, then we can’t operate the daycare. So, we did have to shut down those days,” a daycare representative said.
Most recently, a boil water notice was lifted after a couple of days when crews accidentally struck an unknown water line.
For now, city officials are asking residents to remain patient as crews continue working to resolve the issues.
They acknowledge the frustrations and advise residents to stock up on water, as similar problems could persist.
"Fill a bathtub or buckets with water for general sanitation in anticipation of continued system sewer construction," Manton said.
“It’s super inconvenient for the parents, so obviously they have their frustrations towards us,” the daycare representative said.
