More Fort Worth residents must boil water as warning expands to western part of the city
West Fort Worth water customers must now boil their water after a water main break caused a loss of pressure in a huge chunk of the city.
More than 200,000 people in the northern third of Fort Worth are also still under a boil advisory following freezes at treatment plants and pump stations. The city did not immediately say how many customers are impacted by the latest boil warning.
The latest boil water advisory affects customers from Montgomery Street westward as well as three cities in this area that buy drinking water from Fort Worth: Aledo, White Settlement and Westover Hills.
Fort Worth Water is primarily communicating boil advisories through its Facebook and Twitter pages along with media notices. The city will also send automated robocalls and text messages, spokesperson Mary Gugliuzza said. Information about the text and phone alert system can be found on the city’s website.
On Thursday afternoon, notices were sent to customers across the Fort Worth by mistake, the city said.
Water should be boiled before use, including when drinking, brushing teeth and for cooking and hand and face washing. Once the water reaches a boil, it should continue boiling for two minutes. Water for showering, bathing and dish washing should be OK as long as it’s not ingested.
Restaurants and other food establishments are being notified of the advisory but the city’s Consumer Health division, spokesperson Diane Covey said.
“Businesses cannot serve food if they are inside a zone that requires water to be boiled before consumption,” she said. “They are being told to stop immediately if they are within the boundaries.”
The a large number of water main breaks caused a loss of pressure and the system was unable to maintain storage through increased pumping, the city said in a statement. Fort Worth Water has numerous crews working around the clock and has brought in contractors to assist with the repairs.
Because of the pressure loss, contaminants may have seeped in to the system through cracks in the pipe.
The water department Thursday morning said crews had repaired half of the 180 water main breaks that have occurred in Fort Worth since Sunday.
Bottled water distribution sites have opened at a few north Fort Worth fire stations. For the west side, water can be found at:
▪ RD Evans Community Center, 3242 Lackland Road (starts Friday)
▪ Western Hills High School, 3600 Boston Ave.
▪ Birchman Baptist Church, 9100 North Normandale St. (starts Friday)
Fort Worth Water can be contacted at 817-392-4477 or email MyWaterAccount@FortWorthTexas.gov.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 10:53 AM.
