One resident said she doesn’t trust the water coming out of her faucets after this weekend’s issues.
MANOR, Texas —
A Manor homeowner said she doesn’t trust the water that’s coming out of her faucets after it turned brown and yellow over the weekend.
Marianne Stewart said her water appeared to be back to normal on Monday, but she won’t be using it to cook or wash dishes for a few days just to be safe.
She showed KVUE the yellow-tinted water from Sunday after initially getting brown water on Saturday. Stewart lives in the Shadow Glen subdivision off Highway 290 and uses Crossroads Utility Service as her water provider.
According to Stewart, she didn’t receive any alerts or communication when her water turned brown, and that’s unacceptable.
“First of all, I want them to apologize publicly,” Stewart said. “You want to make sure that you communicate with your customers. I mean, we do pay for this service.”
According to Manor City Manager Scott Moore, the Manville Water Supply Corporation said the break happened on Friday after a private contractor hit one of its water main lines.
Moore also said this is likely what caused Stewart’s discolored water since Crossroads and several other city subdivisions get their water from Manville. Some areas encountered more issues than others depending on where their subdivision is connected to Manville’s transmission main, Moore said.
The City of Manor said they have conducted tests to make sure the water is safe.
What’s being done in Manor to prevent issues
According to Moore, city leaders are working to identify areas of the system that could be improved by expanding their system to create some redundancy. Expansion would also help provide a reliable backup option to each other’s systems.
Manor expects to add 14,000 housing units over the next seven to 10 years. Moore said expanding water and sewer infrastructure will become a priority for city leaders to support.
Aging infrastructure could be to blame for the issues, but Moore said Manor plans to replace old infrastructure with new modern after and sewer pipe material to minimize potential brown water issues from ductile iron pipes that were installed 50 to 60 years ago.
Manor also has a current plan to replace older sections of meters, valves and fire hydrants that have exceeded their lifespan.
Manor expects its regional wastewater project, which is included in the Texas Water Development Board’s Intended Use Plan, to benefit from Texans passing Proposition 6 in November 2023.
Moore also wants Manor residents to know that they’re working with wholesale water supply providers to develop a protocol in the coordination of flushing out their respective systems where they connect to help isolate brown water issues in specific areas.
Here’s the full statement from Manville Water Supply about the break:
“On Friday, February 23rd , Manville Water was informed that a contractor putting in a storm drain on Gilbert Road, hit Manville’s 12” main line. Notification was provided immediately to Manville customers affected by the service interruption, using our call-out system and alert system on Manville’s website.
Once the repair was completed, Manville operators followed TCEQ requirements by flushing the line, recording residuals, and collecting a water sample for bacteriological testing at a TCEQ approved laboratory. The test results have been received with both the total coliform and E. coli bacteria tests being negative, indicating no bacterial contaminants detected in the water.
Discolored water and trapped air are common occurrences after a water main break or other water system maintenance work. Discolored water is caused by sediment and mineral deposits in the pipes that can be stirred up when the water is turned off and then back on following work or a leak in the system. Manville is investigating the line break and addressing the discolored water calls that have been received due to this incident. Our operators continue to flush the system lines to clear out the pipes, record residuals, and collect additional water samples for bacteriological testing.”
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