UPDATE 6-18:
The city of Corpus Christi confirms that the water discoloration issues that were reported this week have been resolved. The city says the water discoloration were isolated incidents, and that 75 calls were received regarding the issue. Those who requested water quality assurance were assisted by a certified water utility technician within two hours.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Some residents in Flour Bluff and Callalen, as well as the King's Crossing neighborhood and neighborhood on Kostoryz Rd. and Norton St. are experiencing dirty water.
The Corpus Christi water department said this hasn't happened in a few years and got calls from about 50 residents, but the recent rainfall is the cause of the problem.
Heavy rainfall in the Nueces River watershed changed the alkalinity in the water. The alkalinity is what allows the water to be stable once they treat it with chemicals to make it drinkable.
When the alkalinity gets low due to rainfall it gets harder to treat and it makes the water less stable, which may cause it react with pipes in people's homes which can lead to some discoloration.
"This is seasonal based on heavy rainfall in the watershed, yes, that leads to it. It's something to look out for whenever we have heavy rainfall in the source water,” Gabriel Ramirez, the Corpus Christi Assistant Director Water Quality and Treatment said.
The Corpus Christi Water Department is urging people to call 826-CITY to get your water fixed. Ramirez said they don’t know your water is dirty until you alert them.
Ramirez said the water coming into the treatment plant has returned to normal and said it should be clean in people’s houses within the next few days. The water is currently safe to drink.
"Our water has been safe the whole time. We get real time data coming in that gives us our water quality perameters. Everything is looking great. The water is definitely safe,” Ramirez said.
He said in the meantime they are able to remove the water meter so that way residents’ water bills aren’t affected and said they are able to flush the water out using a fire hydrant, allowing residents to have fresh water.
He said they did not get any calls from schools or businesses regarding their water.
A resident says it's been a problem for several days now.
