Boil Water Notices

If you have been issued a Boil Water Notice message, please see information below.

According to TCEQ Crystal Clear is required to issue a Boil Water Notices for the following reasons: 

  • Low distribution pressures (<20psi)
  • Water outage        
  • Line Break
  • E. coli or fecal positive    D Failure to maintain adequate microbiological sample(s)                 chlorine residuals
  • Elevated finished water turbidities (Surface Water Treatment Rule)
  • Other:                                             

If any of these confitions in the distribution system meet requirements for boil water notice and boil water notice is issued by Crystal Clear SUD. The following veribage is sent to each customer according to TCEQ:  

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required Crystal Clear SUD public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions).

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.

In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes. When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes. Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice. Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, you may contact: Crystal Clear SUD at 830-372-1071. 

Once repairs are made, system regians pressure, and a bacterilogical sample (Bac-T for short) is retrieved from the affected area and taken to an accredited state laboratory. Timing is everything here, because unlike a water district, laboratories are not running 24/7. They operate from Monday to Friday 8-5. 

Bac-T is a test that the state mandates Crystal Clear SUD to take to ensure the water is safe for human consumption. The test itself mimics the digestive tract and raises the temperature of the sameple to a temperatue that, if present, pathogens in the sample would show themselves. The test takes 24 hours to complete. 

Once Crystal Clear SUD receives word that the sample is "ABSENT/ABSENT" from the lab, meaning the water is safe, the office will send a boil water notice rescinded that it is no longer necessary to boil water. This is engrained in every water company in the state of Texas and there is no magical way to speed up the results. 

In the event that the the same does not come back "ABSENT/ABSENT", then Crystal Clear SUD has to repeat the process of sample taking. Until the results come out as "ABSENT/ABSENT". This is all done out an abundance of safety becuase the customer safety is priority.