BEAUMONT, Texas — There’s hope for Beaumont water users plagued with a bad taste and smell as the city is planning to begin converting back to its usual method of treating drinking water this week.
The City of Beaumont, on Tuesday, plans to start converting back to using chloramines to disinfect its drinking water after using “free chlorine” for the past 20 days according to an update posted to Facebook Sunday night.
The switch to the stronger disinfectant as the two mix in the system is what causes the bad taste and odor according to the city. The water has and will remain safe and drinkable throughout according to city officials.
With the switch back as the two different disinfectants will mix again so residents and businesses can expect more taste and order issues according to City of Beaumont Communication Director Lauren Monitz.
It’s the same process that the city began in late August, but in reverse, according to Monitz.
Beaumont water users can expect the water issues over the next few days as the switch back is made but the water should be back to normal in about a week Monitz told 12News.
Officials previously said that the city needed to use a different disinfectant because they are having to pull more water from wells in Hardin County because of the drought and the extreme heat
On Friday, Mayor Roy West announced he was issuing a disaster declaration for the city due to the drought and asked residents to pray for rain.
West went on to invite all residents to gather outside of city hall on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to pray for rain to end the drought and to pray for the strength and grace to deal with whatever comes next.
The Beaumont City Council will consider adopting the disaster declaration at its meeting on Tuesday according to another Facebook post by the city on Monday morning.
Saying that city crews are working hard and prioritizing leaks, the Sunday evening post noted that the city is still dealing with many water line breaks due to the drought and heat.
Stage three mandatory water restrictions also remain for residents and businesses in Beaumont.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.