CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Many neighbors across Corpus Christi have been wondering why their tap water smells or tastes odd. KRIS 6 News wanted to dig deeper to get answers and spoke with Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer, Drew Molly, to get to the bottom of it.
During an interview with Neighborhood News Reporter, Alexis Scott, Molly reassured the community their tap water is completely safe to drink and use. He said water safety is the number one priority to him and his team. The reason behind the recent shift in water taste and odor stems from several different factors, but Molly attributed it to a blend of different water sources entering the system.
YouTube: What's up with the water? Drew Molly knows why
“Right now, we’re taking a combination of Colorado River Water, Lake Texan water and Nueces River water," Molly said. "We’re blending all three of those river water sources into our drinking water system. We have a process by which we do that. But anytime there’s a little bit of a change in any one of those three, you can potentially see some changes in water quality.”
In response to the dozens of complaints, CCW staff were dispatched to each service request location to test the water and confirm it remains safe and compliant with all regulatory requirements. We're told this is typical protocol in all water operations, not only due to the current situation.
“Aesthetics is a big part of our water business and so we need to make sure we’re always out there testing," Molly said. "Everyday, we're testing our water system and we have to meet some pretty stringent standards, and in order to have a Superior Water System, what is ours is rating as, we have to test our water at the O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant, which is what we do everyday."
KRIS 6 News decided to conduct its own water testing. The test we used tracked levels of chlorine, pH, alkalinity, hardness in water, and cyanuric acid. The results showed low levels found within the testing, but nothing toxic enough to be a concern, confirming Molly's reassurance of water quality.
While there's concerns about the changes to our water, Molly said it can happen. And when it does, it usually lasts about a week or two.
He added that CCW staff will continue to test the water and make sure it's usable in all capacities.
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