Austin Partially Lifts Boil Water Notice As Service Improves

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Water customers in the utility provider's central zones no longer need to boil tap water before drinking it, but residents in outlying zones are not out of the woods yet.

In a Facebook post, Austin Water said tap water in its central zones, seen in the map below, was tested by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and was confirmed safe to drink.

With sweeping power outages — like those that temporarily shut down a water treatment plant on Wednesday — a thing of the past, Austin Water has rebuilt the water reserves in its reservoir to 118 million gallons, meaning pressure is high enough for water to be fully treated, according to the post.

Residents in all of Austin Water northern and southern service zones remain under a boil water advisory, according to the utility provider.

Households in these areas should boil any water used for drinking, making ice or brushing teeth, Austin Water said. Water should be kept at a vigorous boil for two minutes before drinking.

Austin Water said it anticipates a quick recovery moving forward, although a specific timeline was not immediately available.

"The majority of Austin residents should see marked service improvements with only small pockets of Austin experiencing the lingering effects of the historic freezing event," the water provider wrote on social media.

Residents with reliable water service are reminded to conserve supplies as Austin Water works to restore service to outlying areas.

The city said Monday morning that customers should not water their lawns, wash vehicles, wash pavement, fill pools or spas or add water to decorative ponds or fountains.

"We encourage customers, as they receive improved service, to continue to actively conserve water. Minimize use to the essentials. Don't try to catch up on all of your laundry, do all of your dishes or take multiple showers," Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said on Friday. "We want to build our system up slowly. It's still very tender and fragile from this event."

Austin Water's outage map indicates water service is variable in its south, southwest A, southwest B, north, northwest A and northwest B zones. As of Monday morning, service was still unavailable to the southwest C and northwest C zones.

Residents without easy access to safe drinking water can pick up a case of bottled water at one of 10 distribution sites across the city.

In a news conference on Friday, Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk said the city has purchased a million gallons of water from neighboring states. The bottled water is to be paired with donated water supplies and an initial delivery of 36 pallets of bottles from FEMA and distributed across the community.

As of Sunday evening, the city had distributed over 69,000 cases of water across Austin.