Water outage, boil order frustrates Vinton residents

VINTON, Texas -- A water boil order has been put in place for residents in Vinton after the El Paso County village's water system suffered an outage.

Vinton Mayor Manuel Leos told ABC-7 that a pump went out causing the citizens of Vinton to be without water completely for a full day, but the service was restored by midnight.

The mayor explained that when the pump went out, the city was forced to uncap the well. When that happened, there was a possibility of the water supply becoming contaminated - so a precautionary boil order was put into place.

"I'm asking the residents of Vinton to be patient.  We have water, the system is operating at its proper level again.  I want to thank them for the patience they have had," Leos said.

Vinton residents are complaining because their tap water is coming out a dark color and there is very little pressure.

"Bottled waters, that's what we have to get and get containers for water, filtered water to be able to cook and use water for us," said Maria Cadena, whose home is one of those in the boil water zone.

Residents also complain that their water bills just went up around $40 because of costs apparently associated with connecting to the El Paso Water Utilities grid.