BEAUMONT, Texas — The mayor of Beaumont issued a disaster declaration Friday morning for the city due to the drought and ongoing water issues and invited residents to pray for rain.
Mayor Roy West made the declaration public while speaking at a news conference surrounded by other city officials at the Event Centre downtown.
He also invited all Beaumont residents to gather outside of city hall next Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 10 a.m. to pray for rain, to the end the drought and to pray for the strength and grace to deal with whatever comes next.
With the disaster declaration the city can now use state and federal resources to help with funding water issues such as main water line breaks and finding contractors to help fix leaks according to the mayor.
"TDEM, Texas Division of Emergency Management which could come in and assist us with things, even to the point of providing water if we need it," West said.
The City of Beaumont's public works director, city manager and the director of water and sewer joined the mayor for the 10 a.m. news conference.
"Our region of Texas is currently in a exceptional drought. This is the highest intensity assigned to drought by the Texas Water Development Board," said City of Beaumont Public Works Director Bart Bartkowiak.
Officials strived to assure residents that the strange taste and smell in the water is all part of efforts to treat and disinfect the water to make it safe to drink in the long run.
"Don't be alarmed chlorine smells a little bit, but it's a disinfectant," said Beaumont City Manager Kenneth Williams.
Officials also encourage residents to continue reporting new leaks they may see to 311.
"If you see a wooden stake in the ground with blue paint it's already been marked," Bartkowiak said.
237 water leaks still need to be fixed and city leaders are looking for additional contractors to help.
"We currently have placed another emergency contract out and will be taking bids through Monday, September 11 for a second emergency contract bid," Bartkowiak said.
The city is still under stage three mandatory water restrictions under the city's drought plan as of Friday, September 1, 2023.
Since late August, Beaumont's drinking water has been plagued with issues from a strange taste and odor to conservation orders and many water line breaks around the entire city.
Since late August, Beaumont's drinking water has been plagued with issues from a strange taste and odor to conservation orders and many water line breaks around the entire city.
The city has blamed the ongoing drought for the issues.
The smell and taste of the water is blamed on the city's conversion to using a stronger disinfectant called free chlorine for water treatment according to file stories.
Because of the drought the city is relying more on water wells in Hardin County and this new water source requires a different treatment technique according to file stories.
"And the taste and odor issues are coming in where the chloramine water is interacting with the free chlorine water and where those interactions here that blend zone is between the two types of treated water is where you get the taste and odor issues," said Beaumont Public Works Director Bart Bartkowiak.
City workers have been flushing the water system to help alleviate the odor and taste.
The city has also been dealing with high water use that has triggered water conservation orders in the city.
Multiple water leaks around the city have been blamed on the dry shifting earth due to the drought according to city officials.
"Well all that soil is moving around those water pipes too and it causes water leaks," said Director of Public Works Bart Bartkowiak
He tells 12News that crews have fixed six major leaks but they have 259 minor ones pending. Normally, they would have 60 to 70 leaks this time of year.
"Pending means they've been reported in to us, we've identified them, we've marked them with blue paint or a wooden stake that's painted blue. But we just haven't been able to get to them yet," Bartkowiak said.
Mayor West knows it's frustrating to see the streams of water being wasted at a time when the city is asking residents to conserve water.
"We investigate each leak to see how many gallons per hour it's leaking. If you got one that's leaking 100 gallons an hour, the ones that are leaking four to eight hundred gallons a minute a going to get priority over that," said West.
Bartkowiak says the entire water department is focused on repairs and they've also hired an outside contractor who will be an additional crew.
"We have nine city crews working and we have one contractor crew working and a crew is normally three people," Bartkowiak said.
Bartkowiak told 12News depending on how bad the leaks are, crews can fix three or four a day.
Councilman At Large Randy Feldschau sympathizes with residents who are experiencing the impacts of the leaks.
"My water has an odor, my water taste bad, and so we have a vested interested in this not only for our citizens but for ourselves. I say that because we can empathize with our citizens, we know and understand their frustrations," said Feldschau.
Residents are still asked to conserve water until the city's water supply to gets back to normal. Bartkowiak says that could be a few days if crews are able to catch up on the repairs.