BATSON, Texas — The combination of a power interruption over the weekend and a leak discovered on Monday evening caused a "perfect storm" that ended up leaving Batson residents with little to no water pressure and triggering a boil water notice.
As of midday Tuesday the issues have been fixed and the tank is full but the system is still being brought back to full pressure according to West Hardin Water Supply field supervisor Larry Thompson
Once the pressure is back up, water quality tests must be run before the boil water notice can be rescinded, Thompson told 12News. He said the boil water notice may be rescinded sometime early Tuesday evening.
The loss of water angered many customers over the weekend with many many discussing it on Facebook.
One such customer is Batson resident Lexie Hancock, who says her water problems have been ongoing.
"You just never know when you're going to have water," said Hancock.
Hancock says that the water problems have made simple things like cooking and bathing a major hassle for her and her family.
"Last night (Sunday) we had to buy jugs of water and heat them on the stove just to take baths," said Hancock.
She says that she hopes the state can eventually step in and help residents out.
"You can live without electricity, but not water," said Hancock "If we can get this out there, maybe one of our state representatives can help."
West Hardin Water Supply board member Amy Enloe joined the discussion on Facebook to let customers know what was being done to solve the problems.
"We are trying to come up with a solution but anything we do causes a domino effect on Votaw, Thicket, Saratoga, Honey Island," she wrote on Facebook. "Right now Saratoga pressure is turned all the way down to try and build them back up but my understanding is Thicket and Votaw pushes to Saratoga as well as Honey Island pushes to Saratoga then it comes to Batson."
On Friday night the Batson plant experienced a couple of brief power interruptions that were so short the generator didn't even get to cycle up to full power before the electricity came back on according to Lesa Guedry of the West Hardin Water Supply.
The power interruption caused the water storage tanks to lose their communication connection with the well, according to Thompson. Normally, whenever the level gets below a set point in the storage tanks a signal is sent automatically to the well to pump more water into the tank to keep the level up he said.
Because this wasn't happening it caused the tanks, with a storage capacity of 150,000 gallons to be drained, according to Thompson.
The lower level caused water pressure in the system to drop and then begin to pull water from a relay station in Saratoga to try to keep up, according to Thompson. The Saratoga relay was later isolated to keep pressure up in that area and ensure that the West Hardin schools could stay open.
The West Hardin Water Supply has three plants, each with their own well and storage tank, in Batson, Thicket and Honey Island and each one is checked every morning by a staff member.
When the Batson plant was checked on Saturday morning the tech noticed the tank was low and began working to rectify the situation immediately, according to Thompson.
Refilling the storage tank and getting the water sent back out can be "a long drawn out process," Thompson told 12News.
An alert was sent out to all water customers, who had signed up for them and a notice was placed on on the water supply's website asking users to cut back on water use immediately, she said.
The notice asked users not to use "excessive" water and noted that the system was under strain, describing the issue as "extreme."
A boil water notice was also issued due to the loss of water pressure.
Normally, it would take at least 24 - 36 hours to refill those storage tanks, Thompson told 12News, saying they could have been full by Sunday morning. But, residents were still using some water even though their pressure was very low and there was yet another issue affecting the system.
Unbeknownst to Thompson, a 6-inch water main was leaking in an unused pasture along Texas Highway 105. Luckily a resident noticed water running into a ditch on his property and alerted officials by about 6 p.m. Thompson and his crew were able to then trace the leak to it's origin and start working to repair it.
Thompson described the pump failure and the water main break as a "perfect storm," saying that one without the other would not have caused near the issues that system faced.
Batson often faces water issues more than the other areas served by the water supply because it is the water supply's most populous area is also lower in elevation than other areas in the system, Thompson told 12News.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
