Granite Shoals lifts boil water notice
Granite Shoals Utilities and Streets Department staff work to repair a large water line on Granite Castle Drive on May 5. Photo courtesy of Steve Hougen
The city of Granite Shoals lifted a boil water notice for all residents and businesses at around 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 7. The notice was put in place Sunday night after the city’s pump system was shut down to repair a major waterline break in the 200 block of Granite Castle Drive.
Residents should notify the city if they have heavily discolored water coming out of their faucets, Granite Shoals Utilities Superintendent Josh Hisey told DailyTrib.com. Because the water system was depressurized during repairs, some debris and seepage could have collected in residential plumbing and still need to be flushed out, he said. Call Hisey at 830-596-3320 or City Hall at 830-598-2424.
City staff began attempting repairs to the 6-inch line at around 3 a.m. Sunday. The amount of water rushing out of the broken pipe made it difficult to repair and depressurized the system, causing low-water pressure issues for residents.
After 12 hours of working on the submerged pipe, city leadership chose to turn off the pump systems to facilitate repairs. Turning off the pumps causes untreated water to seep into the plumbing, necessitating a boil water notice.
Repairs to the pipe were completed on Sunday and the pumps were turned back on soon after. Still, waterlines had to be flushed throughout Monday to clear any possible contaminated water from the system.
Water samples were sent to the Lower Colorado River Authority Environmental Lab at around 2:30 p.m. Monday. The city received the green light from the LCRA to lift the boil water notice by Tuesday afternoon.
“To my knowledge, nobody has had any issues,” said Hisey regarding consumption of contaminated water.
The city is still looking into the exact cause of the line break, but Hisey said there are still no clear answers. He did note that the city had put a tap into the pipe near the break over a week before it occurred. An examination line showed no direct relationship between the tap and the break.
Stay informed
Residents can sign up for Granite Shoals’ Eye on Water app to get alerts about major water issues and track their water usage. The system was installed in May 2023 and is available to anyone with a water meter in the city. Sign up online using the information on your water bill.
Other ways to stay informed:
Graniteshoals.org: The city’s website posts up-to-date information on major issues and city business.
City of Granite Shoals, Texas Facebook page: The city has an active Facebook page to dispense relevant information to residents.
Warn Central Texas: Sign up to receive notifications about major events and warnings for your area. You can sign up for specific locations, like Granite Shoals, and customize the types of alerts you want to receive.
Everbridge phone application: Granite Shoals began using the Everbridge app in 2023. Users can download it to receive alerts about city-specific events such as boil water notices and customize the types of alerts they receive.
Crews go above and ‘below’
When the 6-inch waterline broke early Sunday morning, city staff went to work. Heavy equipment was used to dig a hole to access the broken line, but the hole constantly filled with water, and workers had to make repairs while submerged.
Shutting off the city’s pumps allowed the crew to drain the hole, access the broken pipe, and repair it, which took another five hours, according to Mayor Ron Munos, who was on the scene along with City Councilor Steve Hougen and Interim City Manager Sarah Novo.
“I was amazed and proud of the hard work by our water and streets team,” Munos said in a Facebook post. “They worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions. I am so very proud of them and want to thank them, both as a citizen and as mayor. If you see any of our workers, please thank them as well.”
The city’s utilities and street staff were forced to work without power tools on the submerged pipe. They also reportedly burned through 24 air packs while submerging themselves to make the repairs.
Repairing the line was top priority, Novo said. Many residents experienced extremely low water pressure during the break.
“Ultimately, the water pressure was not there for the community,” she explained. “This was a main line which served the majority of the community.”