Water woes continue in some areas; deemed safe

A few weeks ago, the Journal-Sun reported a number of Atlanta residents were dealing with discoloration in their tap water to varying degrees of severity. This was due to an elevated level of manganese in the water, which came from Lake Wright Patman, and that despite this, the clarity of the water was well within the safety standards, according to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

People have been vocal on social media, not only sharing their concerns about the drinkability of the water, but that their clothing was being stained from the discoloration of the water.

Over the past week, some residents reported having discolored tap water again. According to Atlanta City Manager, David Cockrell, these residents do not live in one geographic area of town.

The City of Atlanta contacted their water provider and found the clarity of the water supply was well within safety standards. When a resident reports of discolored water, the lines are reportedly being flushed in that area.

“Our crews have not reported any cloudy or discolored water when flushing those lines,” Cockrell said.

“If a customer sees any discoloration while running water, particularly on the hot water side, we ask them to run the faucet for a couple of minutes.”

Texarkana has reported similar issues with their water supply.

In a press release issued by Texarkana Water Utilities (TWU), they announced a temporary change to their method of disinfecting their drinking water. TWU normally uses chloramine, a mixture of ammonia and chlorine, to disinfect water. However, July 19 through the next eight weeks, TWU is using chlorine only to disinfect their water. This is a widely used preventative maintenance procedure for municipal water systems in both Texas and Arkansas. As a result of the use of chlorine only, users might notice a temporary change in their water, including a slight “chlorine odor” and discoloration. This should lessen in a couple of weeks and should not affect the safety of the water supply. However, according to Cockrell, this only affects Texarkana and does not affect Atlanta or surrounding areas.

“As best we know, the issue with the manganese is no longer affecting our system. However, we do not have an explanation as to the cause of the very few, isolated incidents,” Cockrell said. “The quality of water we provide is tested and monitored daily at the GPI plant. We will always immediately alert our customers to any unsafe condition.”

Customers experiencing a problem with their water supply can call the Atlanta Water Department at 903-796-7153.