Corpus Christi, Texas, Tells Residents Not to Use Tap Water

Corpus Christi, Texas, Tells Residents Not to Use Tap Water
A woman reaches for bottles of water after a recent back-flow incident in the industrial district according to a city news release, at H-E-B in Corpus Christi, TX., on Dec. 15, 2016. Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—Corpus Christi, a Texas Gulf Coast city, is warning its 320,000 residents not to use tap water because it might be contaminated with petroleum-based chemicals, prompting a rush on bottled water and the closure of local schools.

City officials said in a statement late Wednesday that a “back-flow incident” in an industrial area earlier that day may have caused the chemicals to seep into the water. The statement did not identify the chemicals or the plant from where they originated.

The issues of safe drinking water and eroding infrastructure have gained widespread attention in recent years due to the crisis in Flint, Michigan, where lead pipes contaminated the water supply after the city switched from a metropolitan Detroit system to improperly treated Flint River water in 2014.

City councilman Michael Hunter told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that it’s unlikely the chemicals infecting the city’s supply are concentrated enough to do harm, but that officials must “take every precaution that we can to make sure that everybody is safe.”

Hunter said a local company reported that the water coming from faucets at its plant had a sheen, but he did not identify that company or the nature of its business. Hunter described the possible contaminants as two petroleum-based chemicals.

Empty shelves are left after residents rushed to H-E-B to buy water after a recent back-flow incident in the industrial district according to a city news release, in Corpus Christi, TX., on Dec. 15, 2016. (Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)
Empty shelves are left after residents rushed to H-E-B to buy water after a recent back-flow incident in the industrial district according to a city news release, in Corpus Christi, TX., on Dec. 15, 2016. Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP