Residents of Crystal City, Texas — which was in the headlines earlier this month when the FBI arrested most of the town’s top officials on bribery charges — suddenly have another problem on their hands: Dark, smelly water is flowing from the faucets.
Concerned citizens took to social media Feb. 17 to share pictures of dark-colored water running out of their taps. “It looked like black sludge,” resident Nora Flores-Guerrero tells KSAT. “They were comparing it to oil — that dark.”
Welcome to #CrystalCity Texas where the water is Crystal clear - NOT pic.twitter.com/24AEkXsqzM
— NaphiSoc (@NaphiSoc) February 19, 2016
CNN reports the problem occurred when an elevated water tank was drained for the first time in decades. Chris Jimenez, administrative assistant with the utilities department, tells the San Antonio Express-News the process was sending rust and sediment into the city’s water system.
Residents discovered the water-quality issue on Feb. 17, but the city waited until the following day to issue a boil water advisory. “We didn’t get a proper warning,” Flores-Guerrero says. “They didn’t post anything or send out any type of message to warn the residents. It was pretty scary.”
All but one top official in the city of about 7,500 located about 130 miles southwest of San Antonio is facing some kind of criminal charge, reports the Washington Post. The mayor, mayor pro tempore, a council member and the city manager were arrested Feb. 4 on felony bribery and conspiracy charges. A councilman was indicted Jan. 27 on unrelated federal charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants.
“Right now, there’s not really anyone in charge to oversee and to make people aware of the condition of the water,” Imelda Allen told KSAT.
The city began opening hydrants to flush the system on Feb. 18. By the time the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality tested water at five sites, they found the water to be clear, reports KSAT. The agency also said chlorine residuals and water pressure measurements they took that day were within regulations. The TCEQ has advised residents to continue to boil their water as they wait for more test results, which could be available by Feb. 24.
