BACLIFF, Texas — Residents in North County communities are being asked to conserve water for about a week after a major waterline between Texas City and Bacliff collapsed.
The Gulf Coast Water Authority, which supplies water to most of the county’s utility districts, requested that residents in Kemah, Clear Lake Shores, Dickinson, San Leon, Bayview and Bacliff cut back on water use until the waterline can be repaired.
Robert Istre, manager of the water authority, said it might take eight days for work crews to repair the 30-inch line from the authority’s Thomas Mackey Water Treatment Plant in Texas City to the communities in northeast Galveston County.
More than 13,500 customers are affected, according to figures from the utility districts. Officials with the affected districts reported no major problems with the lack of water, but that could change.
James Wistinghausen, general manager for the Bacliff Municipal Utility District, warned that with the prediction of freezing temperatures by Friday — including possible snow flurries — the amount of available water could be even more restricted if homeowners decide to let their faucets drip to prevent the pipes from freezing.
Wistinghausen said he is asking customers to refrain from that practice until the water main can be fixed.
David Paulissen, general manager for the Water Control Improvement District No. 1, which serves 7,400 customers in the Dickinson area, said his crews were busy topping off the district’s water wells to prepare for low supplies. The water district is helped somewhat because it receives water from two Gulf Coast Water Authority lines, Paulissen said.
Istre, who did not say what caused the leak, said the water line should be back in service by Dec. 9.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com’s partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.
