Odessans can go back to using City of Odessa water to brush their teeth and rinse their veggies after test results came back negative for dangerous bacteria Saturday afternoon.
City of Odessa Utilities Director Tom Kerr said the final test results came back negative around 2 p.m.
Ector County and Odessans have had to boil their water before consuming it since 1 a.m. Tuesday. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the city to issue a boil alert when crews were forced to shut down its entire water system following the break of a 24-inch waterline at 42nd and San Jacinto street at dinner time Monday.
Although the city does have a valve system that usually allows it to isolate and fix breaks, the valve nearest the fractured pipeline turned out to be faulty. As a result, the entire system had to be shut down. Most Odessans had their water back by late Thursday, but it took awhile before test samples could be gathered because crews had to wait for the chlorine in the system to reach the appropriate levels.
It also takes 24 hours for test results to return.
Crews finished replacing the faulty valve, located at Andrews Highway and 42nd Street, around 5:30 a.m. Saturday and shortly thereafter fixed a minor leak that popped up at the original break site, Kerr said.
