Broken Northeast water main removed, new pipe being installed today

Update (6:06 PM): El Paso Water says that crews continue to make steady progress to repair the broken water main. Read through the company's latest update below:

"Crews are making steady progress to repair a broken large water main that interrupted
service for many Northeast and Central residents. Days of pumping out and diverting water from the site
allowed crews last night to remove a large, damaged segment of the 36-inch water main that caused the
draining of 15 reservoirs Jan. 11. This morning, crew members successfully began the welding process to
repair.
Two days ago, approximately 38,000 customer connections — more than 100,000 people — were
without water. Thanks to EPWater efforts to move water from different parts of the system, that
number has been reduced to an estimated 8,000 customer connections serving 24,000 people.
The extensive transition to full restoration follows. Repressurizing the system must be done slowly and
carefully to avoid additional line breaks. The system will be flushed through hydrants to remove
sediment and restore chlorine levels. Customers should expect to see water on area streets over the
next 24 hours until the process is complete. Even after water service is restored, the boil water notice
remains in effect for the entire identified area in this map.
“Restoring water service is our highest priority along with protecting water quality for every resident,”
said Vice President of Operations and Technical Services Gilbert Trejo. “We thank residents, business
owners and schools for their patience. Restoring the system is a slow process to avoid damaging
remaining infrastructure.”
Although preliminary water lab results from affected areas are encouraging, the boil water notice
remains in place until required sampling is completed. This is a precautionary public health measure
required when system pressure drops, introducing the potential risk of contamination. Please do not
drink tap water, cook, brush teeth, make ice or give it to pets until it has been deemed safe to consume.
Use boiled or bottled water.
Water use
Water is safe for hand-washing, dishwashing and bathing. EPWater will notify customers once the water
is confirmed to be safe to drink. Customers are asked to:

Grandview Park, 3100 Jefferson Ave.
For updated information, please visit epwater.org and our social media platforms.

Boil all water used for drinking, cooking and ice-making for three minutes, then allow it to cool.

Use bottled water as an alternative.
In addition, area restaurants are asked to refrain from serving fountain drinks or using ice machines
connected to tap water. Please turn them off, discard any ice and wait for the advisory to be lifted.

Deceptive notices
Related to the water outage, EPWater is receiving reports again about suspicious notices being left at
customers’ homes, questioning the safety of their water. Businesses are using water notices to mislead
customers into buying unnecessary water filtration systems that cost up to $10,000.
Water from most home filtration systems still must be boiled. Most filters do not remove bacteria or
viruses.
Questionable business practices and suspected fraud may be reported to the Better Business Bureau at
bbb.org/scamtracker/reportscam.
Water distribution
EPWater’s community partners continue to volunteer at distribution sites and increase the amount of
water availability in Northeast and Central El Paso to meet demand. Nonprofit organizations, Fort Bliss,
and several local engineering and construction firms donated bottled water and the use of water
tankers.
Below is a list of the water distribution sites managed by EPWater that will be operational from
5 a.m. to midnight. Customers should bring their own containers to the following sites:

North Skies Park, 7073 Copper Town Drive

Sue Young Park, 9730 Diana Drive

Arlington Park, 10350 Pasadena Circle

Sunrise Park, 3800 Sunrise Ave.

Chisolm Park (across from Clendenin Elementary School), 2700 Harrison Ave."

Update (3:12 PM): El Paso Water says that repairing the 36-inch broken water main has been difficult. Today crews are installing and welding the new pipe in place. The company will then slowly restore water by repressurizing the system slowly to avoid future breaks.

El Paso Water says that samples taken yesterday are "encouraging." An official added that more testing will continue.

Officials said that there are now 8,000 connections without service. That is equivalent to 24,000 people, according to El Paso Water. Approximately 100,000 people are still under a boil water notice.

Update (2:12 PM): El Paso Water officials will hold a news conference at 3 p.m. today. ABC-7 will air the news conference live and will livestream it online.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Thousands are still in need of water in Northeast El Paso. That is due to a water main break that happened late Saturday night and has impacted everyday life in parts of the city since. El Paso Water has multiple water distribution locations for those who need help at this time. Over 100,000 residents or customers were affected.

Overnight, El Paso Water says its crews removed the broken segment of the 36-inch water main that broke.

"The operation has posed a challenge for crews as they simultaneously pump remaining water out of the line to keep it out of the trench where crews are working," an El Paso Water spokesperson said in a social media post Tuesday morning. The post also showed the following pictures of the pipe being removed:

El Paso Water has now set up seven different locations for you, different from what we had yesterday. Now, El Paso Water will also have water tankers at four of these distribution locations. You will need to bring your own container to collect water from the tankers. Our crews saw lots of people bringing empty orange juice cans, so that's an example of what you can bring. Water bottles and jugs will also be available at these locations.