CENTRAL TEXAS (KXXV) — "I just don’t think it’s clean — I mean that’s the only thing I can say," Gale Piel said.
"I buy water to drink and I buy water to cook with."
The City of Temple resident lives near one of several addresses where the city said the drinking water piping material is "unknown".
Piel says sometimes her water is brown, and while it isn't known exactly could cause that, she is not taking any chances, and hasn’t trusted the water for a while.
Another resident also told 25 News that their water can also be discolored at times but chose not to talk to us on camera about the issue.
We spoke to neighbors about their water quality following new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)guidelines going into affect October 16 — requiring water suppliers to inventory drinking water lines, identify the materials that make them up and report their material findings.
The City of Temple, Waco and Bryan are some of our communities that have incorporated online maps that display piping materials across their coverage areas.
In a press release from The City of Temple sent out Thursday, the city introduced their map and stated they do not believe any lead pipes are in their service system and said their water is tested frequently — adding lead levels are within acceptable limits — leading them to believe there are no risk of lead contamination in lines where the materials are unknown.
Public water systems must have sent their water line inventories over to the TCEQ by October 16 with the goal being to identify and let the public know where lead pipes are in your communities.
Central Texas neighborhoods including Waco have recently replaced lead pipes in our neighborhoods.
Piel says piping was replaced in her neighborhood.
"A few years ago, we had new pipes — had to put in because these were leaking," she said.
The Biden Administration recently set a ten year deadline for U.S. cities to replace lead pipes in order to keep Americans safe and help keep lead out of drinking water, making it safer.
The TCEQ told 25 News those inventories must be publicly available, and also has the Texas Drinking Water Watch for anyone who wants to take a closer look at what's in local drinking water.
