EPWU: Boil Water Until Further Notice If You’ve Had Problems

ABC-7 didn’t just seek out answers from the electric company, but also from El Paso’s water utilities.

Frozen pipes or burst lines have left many without water to flush their toilets or take showers in days.

No one has been safe from the series of water and power outages, even the ABC-7 office building didn’t have a single drop of water Friday morning.

It seems most people are dealing with burst pipes or frozen pipes wreaking havoc on equipment belonging to the water company.

“We did have problems with equipment freezing, pumps freezing, getting the water into the tank; that’s what was was freezing. And that’s why the levels were so low,” said El Paso Water Utilities spokeswoman Christina Montoya.

She insisted they’ve done all they can. “Even though we had taken precaution, even though we had insulated a lot of that equipment, a lot of it did get frozen and that did impact our reservoirs and some low levels,” Montoya said.

Low water levels in tall reservoirs means residents are getting just a trickle of water or none at all.

El Paso Water Utilities’ workers aren’t waiting for the temperature to warm up. They’re using blow torches to heat up pipes to keep stagnant water from creating more problems.

“When the water sits there in the pipes, for example when the pipes freeze, and the water thaws, there’s a possibility of contamination,” said Montoya.

Montoya explained El Paso Electric isn’t helping. “As of last (Thursday) night, we’ve been included in the rolling blackouts that EPE has instituted,” said Montoya.

But why would the electric company target such an important entity? The water situation has gotten so bad, many people are dealing with a big mess.

“I think that’s just a question you’re gonna have to ask them. We did coordinate with them. And that’s what we’re being asked to do at this time,” said Montoya.

Now, for any resident who’s had water problems this week — whether it was brown water, low pressure, or no water — officials want you to boil your water until otherwise notified.