In late July, the entire city of Corpus Christi was under a mandatory water boil notice. The order came after testing of water samples from Flour Bluff came back positive for E coli contamination. Residents and businesses were told to boil water for at least two minutes before being used for drinking, cooking, or ice. Crews worked to flush the entire water system through fire hydrants.
The boil water advisory has been lifted, but Corpus Christi is still at risk, according to City Manager Ron Olson. He, and officials from the water department also talked about a possible solution. The E. coli contamination likely came from a homeowner who is violating city ordinance. There are 126 registered water wells in Flour Bluff, and the majority of those do not have a backflow preventer, a device that keeps contaminated water from entering the public supply. Not having one of these devices violates city ordinance.
“It scares me, because the likelihood or the possibility that this is going to happen again is actually quite high,” Olson says.
The same problem is true for the thousands of sprinkler systems in the area, and that, plus the water well threat makes Mayor Nelda Martinez feel uneasy. “It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she says.
It is going to take time to decipher which wells are improperly connected. The city is considering a mass installment of prevention devices on the service lines of every home that has one. As of now, it is unclear if homeowners will have to pay for it.
“We need to protect the public water system first. We need to worry about enforcement after we have that under control,” Olson says.
CONTACT A CORPUS CHRISTI ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION ATTORNEY
Addressing the water wells is just a start. Many of the sprinkler systems that don’t have backflow preventers in homes that don’t have water wells. Environmental contamination, including soil and water pollution, can have both short-term and long-term consequences that can severely affect Texas landowners and their properties. For example, ground contamination can prevent vegetation from growing properly in your soil, and groundwater contamination or depletion can render your well water unfit for human use. Even more severe consequences can result from environmental contamination, including serious injury or illness. Ground and groundwater contamination is not only a threat to the health of human beings and livestock, it can also damage a property’s value and marketability.
If your Texas property has been contaminated by negligent oil or gas activity, or another type of resource exploration, contact our Corpus Christi environmental contamination attorneys to fight for your Texas landowner rights. Environmental contamination can be detrimental to both your land and your health. With the help of an experienced Corpus Christi attorney, you can seek recovery for any expenses associated with detrimental environmental contamination. If you or a loved one has suffered from an illness, or if your property has been adversely affected by contamination from a Texas oil field or another source, contact our experienced environmental contamination attorneys today. You may be able to pursue compensation for injuries or illnesses, damage to land, lost income, and any other expenses resulting from the environmental problem. At Bandas Law Firm, we understand that pursuing a contamination claim against a large, well-funded corporation can be cost-prohibitive to many landowners.
